


be my honeybee

by polaroidsandpeachtea



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Angst, Cooking, Family Bonding, Found Family, Happy Ending, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Kyoutani Kentarou Swears, Light Angst, Love Confessions, M/M, Pining Kyoutani Kentarou, Pining Yahaba Shigeru, Studying, Sweet Kyoutani Kentarou, Touch-Starved, Yahaba Shigeru Swears, references to the secret life of bees, yahaba shigeru is scary
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-09
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-13 09:29:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 20,827
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28651296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/polaroidsandpeachtea/pseuds/polaroidsandpeachtea
Summary: "Why should I help you?""Because I'm obviously hopeless and you can't let your captain fail not one, but two classes." Yahaba says, then groans when Kyoutani just raises a brow, unimpressed. "Fine. I'll buy you food after practice every day you tutor me.""Deal."
Relationships: Kyoutani Kentarou/Yahaba Shigeru
Comments: 45
Kudos: 294





	1. i'm not a juvenile delinquent

**Author's Note:**

> as i was writing the rough draft i was like... why does this kyoutani remind me of something... then i realized i gave him like. the exact backstory of lily in secret life of bees. now you get this. it is very self indulgent i apologize  
> also the song i'm not a juvenile delinquent by frankie lymon and the teenagers goes so much harder than it needs to i love it

Despite popular belief, Kyoutani tries. Really, he does. He tries his best at everything he does; be it schoolwork, volleyball, even interacting with other people, believe it or not. The problem with speaking to other people is that his best doesn't ever seem to be enough. It's not like he tries to be rude, he just gets so _frustrated_ trying to figure people out and he ends up either lashing out or wording things incredibly wrong, and next thing you know, he's on the receiving end of an admittedly well-deserved right hook. 

To call the fights Kyoutani gets himself in 'fights' would be generous, the term 'beatings' would be more accurate. Kyoutani throws just enough punches to say he defended himself before letting what happens happen, sometimes he'll end up on the ground, covering his neck while he lays there. He does this because, in actuality, the thought of hurting someone else made Kyoutani feel sick to his stomach. It's not all bad, he's gotten used to it, he doesn't even cry anymore. Crying makes it worse. He just takes it until whoever it is gets bored or is satisfied, then walks himself home and patches himself up before curling up with his dog. 

Most would never believe that Kyoutani never instigates the fights he gets in, but he doesn't mind. Let people believe what they want, he thinks, and if they avoid him over it then that's just more time he can spend on his own. All the time he spends alone is probably why he does so well in his classes, he doesn't often bring a full lunch and he doesn't sit with anyone, so he spends that time reading or doing homework. Most don't know that, though, and his reputation as the class delinquent leads most to think his grades reflect such expectations-which is why it comes as such a shock when Yahaba Shigeru asks him for help studying.

* * *

" _What_?"

"You heard me," Yahaba snaps, arms folded defensively over his chest. "I need your help with something."

Kyoutani eyed the captain for a moment, humming in thought before saying a simple: "No," and turning back to his book. Unfortunately, Yahaba is relentless and has absolutely no shame.

"C'mon, you don't even know what I was gonna ask!" groans Yahaba. 

"I know I don't want to do it, I know that reading sounds _much_ more appealing than helping you with some crisis." Without looking up, Kyoutani waves Yahaba away. "Go ask Watari."

"Unfortunately for me, Watari is just as stupid as I am." Yahaba leans down at the waist, pushing Kyoutani's book away from his face. "I need you to tutor me, I'm shit at maths and I currently have no idea what's going on in our Japanese literature class."

Kyoutani stared up at Yahaba with furrowed brows, lips twisted into an annoyed frown. "Do you even know what we're supposed to be working on in lit?"

"...hang on I know this..." Yahaba mumbles, "Ah! That book, To Be Human!" To Kyoutani's horror, Yahaba didn't appear to be joking.

"It's called No Longer Human, dumbass, and that's the wrong book. Same author, I'll give you that. We're reading The Setting Sun." Kyoutani rolls his eyes and leans back, "Why should I help you?"

"Because I'm obviously hopeless and you can't let your captain fail not one, but _two_ classes." Yahaba offers, then groans when Kyoutani just raises a brow, unimpressed. "Fine. I'll buy you food after practice every day you tutor me."

"Deal." After a moment, Kyoutani narrows his eyes, "Do you even have a copy of The Setting Sun?"

"No."

"Figures," Kyoutani scoffs and shakes his head. "I have an extra copy. I'll lend it to you. How the fuck are you in a college prep course?"

Yahaba narrows his eyes at the ace, backing away and once again folding his arms over his chest, "I'll have you know I typically have excellent grades. I've just been a bit... distracted lately, that's all."

"Uh huh," hums Kyoutani, still unconvinced. "When do you want to meet first?"

"Does tonight work? We can go to my house."

Kyoutani thinks for a moment, trying to remember if he has any chores back home he didn't do that morning that need to be done before his father got home. "Yeah," he mumbles, nodding. "That works."

"Great," Yahaba gives a polite nod and waves before he starts walking away, "Don't be late for practice."

Kyoutani just grunts in response, turning back to the book in his lap.

* * *

Yahaba's house is somehow exactly what Kyoutani expected. The kitchen gave way to the dining area, and the entire room had a warm glow about it. Music played softly over a radio and a woman sang softly along with some song Kyoutani didn't recognize. The woman looked like Shigeru, their hair was the same color, their eyes were the same, her smile was bright when she turned to notice Yahaba and Kyoutani standing there.

"Oh! Who's this, Shigeru?" Yahaba's mother asked softly, eyes gleaming with interest as she looked Kyoutani up and down. 

"This is Kyoutani, he's on the team with me."

Kyoutani bowed politely, "It's nice to meet you, Yahaba-san." He mumbled. 

"We're going to study up in my room." Yahaba explains. 

"Sure thing, Shigeru. Kyoutani-kun, will you stay for dinner?"

Just as Kyoutani was about to politely decline, Yahaba butted in. "Yeah, he will." 

Kyoutani shot Yahaba a look, but the brunet didn't even look his way. Yahaba's mother, Sara, looked delighted by this news, though, so Kyoutani let it slide. "Oh, good! I'll make sure to make enough, then!"

Yahaba nodded at his mother, then ushered Kyoutani out of his kitchen and up the stairs. The two boys dropped their stuff down by Yahaba's table before sitting down and pulling their notebooks out. 

"What was that?" Kyoutani asks after a few seconds of silence. "In the kitchen, when you told your mom I would stay."

"Oh," Yahaba shrugs and picks at a wrinkled page in his notebook, "You've mentioned before, just like casually, you know, that your dad doesn't really cook most nights. My mom's a really good cook, so I just thought getting a nice meal would help make up for the fact that I'm kinda forcing you to study with me."

Kyoutani nods, still frowning in slight confusion as he clears his throat. "Right. Whatever. Let's work on calculus first, what are you having trouble with?"

"I don't get how to do these kinds of problems," mumbles Yahaba as he slides his notebook over to Kyoutani, pointing at the problems in question. 

"Oh I used to fucking hate those, here, it's like this..." Kyoutani scoots closer to Yahaba, leaning over so that he can see how he sets up the problem step by step. "You try it." He watches as Yahaba struggles through the next problem, correcting him when he needs to. "Not terrible, you got the right answer eventually, I guess. Do the next one while I work on my stuff."

By the time Yahaba proudly turned toward Kyoutani and told him he was finished with that problem, Kyoutani was four problems ahead. Ignoring the annoyed pout on the captain's face, Kyoutani grabbed Yahaba's notebook to check over his work. "Nope. Entirely incorrect. Man, you really do suck at this, don't you?"

Yahaba snatches his notebook back, face burning in annoyed embarrassment. "That's why I need your help, asshole. Maybe you're just a shitty teacher. I'm not stupid."

Kyoutani's face twisted into a firm frown, eyebrows knit together. "I never said you were stupid, dumbass. I just didn't show it to you in the right way, neither did the teacher, I guess." He pauses to think, then continues, "Alright, let's try this again."

As stiff, crude, and violent Kyoutani seemed literally every other time, he was completely different when he was teaching Yahaba. He was patient, almost kind as he explained and re-explained things until Yahaba was able to understand. Something that was almost a smile twitched at Kyoutani's face when Yahaba finally understood. 

"I don't have my extra copy of The Setting Sun with me," Kyoutani started, "How do you wanna work on that?"

"Sounds like a problem for future me," said Yahaba. The setter groaned as he stretched, rolling his head around in a circle. Let's go downstairs and see if dinner is almost ready, I'm starving and the book can wait."

"No wonder you're failing with that work ethic," Kyoutani grumbles with a roll of his eyes. 

"Shut up, I don't wanna hear it. C'mon."

Reluctantly, Kyoutani got up and followed Yahaba downstairs. When they got downstairs, a girl and a boy-both seemingly only slightly younger than Yahaba-sat in the living room. The girl was on her phone while the boy was reading. Kyoutani stood awkwardly to the side as he watched Yahaba inch over to the back of the couch. 

Yahaba held onto the back of the couch and heaved himself over, landing in a heap on top of his two siblings and earning enraged shrieks from the both of them. Kyoutani snickers despite himself at the sight, he only had one sibling-his sister-and she was ten years older than him. He watched the three siblings rough housing for a moment, until his attention was captured completely by the most delightful creature he'd ever laid eyes on. (Aside from his dog Totoro, obviously.)

It was a basset hound, an older one, by the looks of it, and her hind legs were curled up on the seat of what was evidently a doggy wheelchair. The wheels of the device squeaked as the dog made her way over to Kyoutani, tentatively sniffing at the boy's leg. Slowly, Kyoutani gets down to sit in the floor out of the walkway. He holds his hand out for the dog to sniff, smiling as she licks his palm. 

"Hey baby," Kyoutani mumbles, scratching behind the dog's ears. "Such a sweetie."

The dog waddled closer and plopped her head down in Kyoutani's lap, sighing contentedly as the teen gently strokes her head. 

"Her name is Rosaleen. Rosaleen Daise." When Kyoutani looks up, Yahaba is standing there, watching Kyoutani with a curious look. Apparently he'd gotten bored of tormenting his younger siblings. "Mom named her after her favorite character of some novel in English. I haven't read it, something about bees?"

"Secret Life of Bees," Kyoutani affirms, turning his attention back to Rosaleen. "It's one of the only English novels I've read. The name fits, just so you know. What happened to her legs?"

"We got her from the shelter when I was younger, she'd been hit by a car." Yahaba answers, going to sit on the other side of Rosaleen. "They didn't think she'd make it past the first week, but here we are nine years later. Rosaleen is a fighter."

"Nah," Kyoutani shook his head. "She's not a fighter." He pointedly ignored Yahaba's confused expression, "She's a survivor. There's a difference."

Yahaba found himself wanting to ask if Kyoutani was a fighter or a survivor, but he didn't, much to Kyoutani's relief. They fell into a silence that was different from others they'd shared, there was no tension, no anxiety. It didn't last long, though, because soon two heads peeked around the corner.

"Pssst, Shiggy-chan," the girl said, "Who's your friend?"

"Don't call me that, Emiko," Yahaba snapped, face tinting a light shade of pink. "And he's a teammate, Kyoutani, he came over to study."

"Is he staying for dinner?" The boy asked.

"Yeah, he is. Oh," Yahaba blinked and turned back toward Kyoutani, "Sorry, I forgot you haven't met them. This is Emiko and Eiko, they're twins."

"Are you wearing eyeliner?" Emiko asked, head tilted to the side.

"Uh, yeah?" Kyoutani stiffened defensively, frown etched in place.

"Cool. You should try liquid liner sometime, gives you more Megan less Avril, you know?"

He did not know. "Yeah. Sure."

Pleased with her own helpful insight, Emiko smiled and left without another word, pulling Eiko along with her.

Kyoutani turned toward Yahaba with wide, almost frightened eyes. "Who the _fuck_ are Megan and Avril?"

Yahaba definitely didn't laugh. And Kyoutani definitely didn't hit him. And they definitely didn't grin at each other before Yahaba's mom told them to clean up for dinner. Nope, because that's something that friends do. And they aren't friends. 

When they all sat together to eat, Kyoutani took the seat next to Yahaba and across from Sara. 

Contrary to what you may think at first glance, Kyoutani typically has excellent table manners. When he takes the first bite of his food, almost all of them go out the window. His eyes widen as he eats quicker, rocking happily where he sat-not enough to rock the table or anything, just enough for Yahaba to notice and shoot him a teasing smirk. 

Sara was delighted as Kyoutani evidently enjoyed what she'd made, "I'm glad you seem to like it, Kyoutani-kun. I didn't know your preferences."

Kyoutani quickly shook his head, swallowing and wiping his mouth before he responded. "I don't really have any preferences. I'm not picky, I'll eat whatever someone puts in front of me."

"Good to know," Sara smiles softly, shaking her head. "Slow down a bit, dear, you'll choke yourself. You'd think the poor boy hasn't had a hot meal in days." She chuckles before noting Yahaba's widened eyes and subtle shaking of the head. She gasps softly, but before she can take it back Kyoutani is speaking.

Kyoutani's brows knit together as he scratches the back of his neck. He's scowling, but everyone can tell it's more from embarrassment than anything. "Ah, yeah, my dad's schedule is very different from mine. He works nights, so I cook for myself." He shrugs, "It's cool, though. Doesn't really matter. This is delicious, though. Thank you for letting me stay, Yahaba-san."

"I'm glad you like it. And it's no trouble, really, I'm sure Shigeru would agree that you're welcome over for dinner any time."

For the second time that evening, Yahaba speaks before Kyoutani can decline. "You should, I mean-you're going to be tutoring me anyway. And this hasn't been awful, you should stay tomorrow too."

"...maybe," is all Kyoutani says, staring down at his plate with a frown. 

The twins, throughout all of this, were oblivious. Emiko was texting someone and Eiko had his book hidden under the table. Their mother pursed her lips upon realizing this, but turned back to Kyoutani. 

"I saw you've been acquainted with Rosaleen." 

"Mm, I have," Kyoutani nods. "Her name fits well." He adds, still not looking up as he takes another bite of his food.

"You've read The Secret Life Of Bees?" Sara looks a bit surprised, pleasantly surprised, but still.

"Yeah." Kyoutani offers no other information, and Sara doesn't pry, instead she turns to her son and asks him about school. 

Soon they all finished eating, and Kyoutani offered to wash the dishes. In all honesty, he didn't so much offer as he did collect the plates and stake his claim on the sink. After a bit of pressure from his mother, Yahaba went to help. Kyoutani tried to reject his help, but if there was one person as stubborn as he was, it was Yahaba Shigeru. 

"I'll wash you dry," Yahaba suggested.

"No."

"Kyoutani," Yahaba started through gritted teeth, "I am trying to be nice. So take that stick out of your-"

Kyoutani snorts and hands a dry washcloth to Yahaba, "Don't get your panties in a twist, Cinderella. I just meant that I have no idea where anything in your kitchen goes, it makes more sense for you to dry."

"Oh..." Yahaba hated that that made sense. "Yeah. Okay."

They worked in silence for a few minutes, then Yahaba had to go and open his big mouth. 

"Why do you like that book? About the bees?"

Kyoutani rolls his eyes and shoves a plate at Yahaba's chest, "None of your business. And it actually has very little to do with bees."

"That's stupid."

"No, it's not." Kyoutani spat defensively, glaring as he scrubbed at a dish with more force than what was strictly necessary. 

"Alright," Yahaba said slowly, "Then tell me why it isn't. What's it about?"

"Why?" Kyoutani scowled, pausing to direct his glare at Yahaba.

"Because, dickhead, I'm trying to make an effort to get to know you." Yahaba scoffs.

"If I tell you, will you stop trying?"

"Maybe." Yahaba bumps his shoulder against Kyoutani's, "Won't know until you try."

"Hmph," Kyoutani purses his lips and passes Yahaba another clean plate. Just when Yahaba is ready to give up, the ace sighs and starts talking. "It's about this girl named Lily, her ma is dead. Her dad is abusive. But the lady who takes care of her more often than not, Rosaleen, she's brilliant. A mother figure, more than anything. It's in the south in America a few decades ago, and Rosaleen is a black woman, so things are rocky. When they run away together they eventually make it to the honey farm, and it's the most alive Lily's felt in forever. And she finds family in everyone in the town, really." 

Yahaba was listening intently the whole time, not noticing that the dishes that needed drying were backing up.

"Oi, dumbass! Don't let me be the only one working," Kyoutani snarled, smacking Yahaba.

"Oh, right, sorry," Yahaba mumbled, turning around to start drying the dishes. "You really like that story, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess," Kyoutani shrugged, "It was my mom's favorite."

"Cool," Yahaba glanced over and noticed a blank stare on Kyoutani's face and, well, that just wouldn't do. "Hey, you missed a spot."

Just as Kyoutani looked down, Yahaba reached over and splashed him with bubbly sink water. Kyoutani stares at the setter in shock before his mouth curls into a smirk, "You're dead, Yahaba." Before he could splash him, Yahaba scrambled away, cackling. "Get back here, coward!" 

Sara just shakes her head with a fond smile as she watches the two boys squeal and chase each other, "Don't you two have homework?"

Kyoutani and Yahaba look up, Yahaba tilting his head up the best he could with Kyoutani shoving his face down against the ground. "Your son doesn't have a copy of the book we're supposed to read, and I don't have my extra with me."

"Just read to me, Kyou-chan!" Yahaba says, doing his best Oikawa impression before Kyoutani pushes his face harder against the floor. "Worth it." He groans.

"That's actually not a bad idea..." Sara says quietly, eyebrow raised. "Why don't you two do that? Take turns reading aloud?"

They both groan, now having no excuse not to do their work. Slowly, the two get up and trudge upstairs. Rosaleen follows, going up the little ramp that was apparently meant for her. 

Kyoutani fishes his copy of the book out of his bag and turns to find Yahaba flopping on his bed, patting the space next to him. "C'mon, let's get learnt."

"Never say that again," Kyoutani says, visibly cringing. "Do you wanna read first or should I?"

"Hmm... you read," Yahaba decides. 

Kyoutani grunts, then turns to the first page and starts reading aloud. "Mother uttered a faint cry. She was eating soup in the dining-room. I thought perhaps something disagreeable had got into the soup..."

Kyoutani's voice was actually quite nice, Yahaba thought, when he was relaxed. There was no edge to his tone, no hint of defense or accusation. It was the kind of voice he could fall asleep to, but he didn't dare even close his eyes-he knew there'd be hell to pay if he'd made Kyoutani stay all this time just for him to not pay attention. Yahaba was almost disappointed with Kyoutani realized the time and said he needed to get home, Rosaleen obviously was as she voiced her protests when Kyoutani stopped petting her to stand up. 

Yahaba watched as Kyoutani gathered his things, then walked with him downstairs. 

"Come back any time you'd like, Kyoutani-kun." Sara told the teen, smiling brightly as she pulled Kyoutani into a hug. He'd flinched at first, but awkwardly returned the hug all the same, hoping no one'd noticed his reaction. 

Yahaba walked Kyoutani out after that, hands stuffed in his pockets, "That wasn't entirely awful."

"Nope."

"It was, regrettably, kind of fun."

Kyoutani didn't exactly smile, but he didn't scowl either, and something akin to amusement flickered in his eyes as he gave a nod. "Yeah."

"Are you going to study with me tomorrow, too?" 

"Mm, I will." Kyoutani gave a little wave before he started walking off. "See you at practice."

"Don't be late!" Yahaba called after him, earning a grunt and raised middle finger. 

As both boys returned to their separate homes, they both wondered how this would change things for them in practice the next day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for taking the time to read! Kudos and comments are always appreciated!
> 
> i'm fairly pleased with this, secret life of bees is fresh on the brain and i'm workin on second chapter rn  
> next chapter will include some mentions of child abuse, nothing too heavy though
> 
> come scream with me on tumblr! url is the same as my username on here: polaroidsandpeachtea


	2. blue moon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Apparently, neither of them had any reason to worry about what was in store for them at practice. The reason being that absolutely nothing changed. 
> 
> Outside of practice was a bit different, of course, Yahaba ended up inviting Kyoutani to sit with him, Watari, Kindaichi, and Kunimi during lunch. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> blue moon by the marcels... yea

"So you went over to Yahaba's house," Watari began. "To help him study, even though you hate him-"

Kyoutani looked up from his book with a frown, "I don't hate him."

"You don't?" Watari, Kindaichi, and Yahaba all ask at the same time.

"No," Kyoutani shifts awkwardly in his seat, "He really fucking pisses me off sometimes, but I don't hate him. Don't get me wrong, I won't be signing up to join the Yahaba fan club any time soon, but hate is a very strong word."

"If you don't like him, why are you helping him?" Kindaichi asks.

"Because he promised to buy me food, I'm being bribed."

"I'm still a little confused," Watari shakes his head, "Why do you need to go over to his house to help with studying? We have a free period, lunch, and the library is usually open."

"He has a dog," Kyoutani mumbles, refusing to meet anyone's gaze. "I like dogs."

The truth was that spending time with Yahaba had proved to be much less annoying than Kyoutani expected. None of them needed to know that, though, _especially_ not Yahaba.

Watari looked like he wanted to ask more, but lunch was over, and Kyoutani immediately took the chance to escape. His next class was English, one of his best and Yahaba's worst. Not that he pays attention to which classes Yahaba does well in, it was just common knowledge. If he makes a mental note to help Yahaba with his English in one of their study sessions, that was his business. Obviously he just wanted to con Yahaba into buying him more food, that was it. 

Kyoutani sighed and slumped down in his seat, picking at the worn wood of his desk. He vaguely notes that someone is standing in front of his desk, but thinks nothing of it until he hears a chorus of quiet gasps and can feel more eyes on him than usual. When he looks up, Yahaba is right there.

"The fuck do you think you're doing? You make a habit of just floating around people's desks like a creep?"

Yahaba rolls his eyes and sets a book down on Kyoutani's desk, "I said your name like three times, dick. You just weren't paying attention. You left your book where we were eating outside, I grabbed it for you."

"Oh," Kyoutani pulled the book toward him, picking at one of the pages that was sticking out. "Thanks, I guess. Go away."

Yahaba clenches his jaw and turns on his heel to walk away, though not before he says: "Don't be late for practice," to which Kyoutani grunts dismissively. Yahaba stops in his tracks and gives Kyoutani a stern look.

The tips of Kyoutani's ears burn as he looks away with a scowl, "I'll be there, relax."

Seemingly pleased with his answer, Yahaba turns back around to walk to his desk with a small grin. 

That afternoon's practice went by without incident, the same for their study session. The same could not be said for the next day's morning practice.

Kyoutani came in late, despite his promise the previous night that he would be on time. Yahaba was silently seething over this fact as he quickly finished partner stretches before going to the locker room to confront Kyoutani. When he walked into the locker room, Kyoutani was shirtless, in the middle of changing. The significance of this was that it was the first time Yahaba got a clear look at the bruises that littered Kyoutani's body. All of them couldn't have come from volleyball, but Yahaba decided it was none of his business. He knew Kyoutani was known for getting into fights, which is why he didn't say anything about the bandage wrapped around his hand either. 

"You're late." 

Kyoutani flinches at the sudden sound, glaring over his shoulder at Yahaba after he quickly pulled his shirt on. "You should be a goddamn detective, captain."

"Okay, let me rephrase that," Yahaba starts, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. " _Why_ are you late?"

"Sorry, captain, I was busy ending world hunger." Kyoutani tried to walk around Yahaba, but the setter reached out and grabbed his wrist. He wrenched his wrist out of Yahaba's grip, holding it against his chest as he backed away with a scowl that did little to hide the nervousness in his expression. "Look, it's not like I was trying to be late. I was taking care of something and missed my bus, I'm here now and I'd like to warm up if that's alright with you."

Yahaba eyes Kyoutani a moment longer, then sighed and stepped to the side. "Yeah, whatever. Go warm up, you and Kindaichi are with me for spiking today."

Kyoutani walks out with a grunt of acknowledgement, leaving Yahaba to gather his thoughts before following behind him. 

Kindaichi took the first few balls, beaming in pride when Yahaba complimented his improvement and, after a glare from Yahaba, Kyoutani slapped a hand on the kid's back in reluctant approval. Things turned sour when Kyoutani was up to spike, however. 

The first ball went out of bounds, the second nearly hit Watari in the head. When the third hit the ground with remarkably less power than usual, Yahaba decided it was time to intervene. 

"What's going on with you today?" he asks, "This hasn't been an issue since last year."

"Maybe your tosses just suck." Kyoutani snaps, clenching and unclenching his fists. 

"There's nothing wrong with my tosses, Kyoutani."

Kyoutani scowls as he takes a small step forward, "You trying to say somethin's wrong with me?"

"No," Yahaba grits out, trying to remain calm. "I'm _asking_ you if something's wrong."

"Nothing's wrong, even if there was it'd be none of your business. Leave me alone."

"Fine," Yahaba says with a sigh, "If there's nothing wrong, prove it. Make this next toss toss count and show me that you can handle this today. If you can't that's _fine,_ we can put you on receives and try again this afternoon, we just need to know."

Kyoutani nods, biting down on the inside of his cheek while he waits for Yahaba to get back in position. This time, the ball slammed into the ground on the other side of the net with what little accuracy Kyoutani usually had. Yahaba nods with a smile as he turns to tell Kyoutani that it had been better, but his smile quickly fades to a concerned frown when he sees the brief look of pain on Kyoutani's face. A quick glance down confirmed his worry; a small patch of red began to show on Kyoutani's palm.

"Shit, Kyoutani," Yahaba grumbled, "Go to the locker room, I'll be there in a second."

"I don't-"

"This isn't a debate, go to the locker room." Yahaba waited for Kyoutani to storm off, then shook his head and walked over to the coaches to explain.

When Yahaba got in the locker room, Kyoutani was sitting on a bench and picking at the bandage on his hand. Yahaba quickly crossed over to him. Too quickly, apparently, as Kyoutani startled hard enough that he fell backward off the bench. 

"Scaredy cat," Yahaba mumbled, reaching for Kyoutani's uninjured hand to pull him up. "Wait right here, I've got a first aid kit in my bag." 

Kyoutani just shrugged, not looking up as he fidgeted with his fingers. He hated that Yahaba was going to ask about the cut now, hated that this meant Yahaba was going to keep an even closer eye on him than usual, hated that the fucker would probably bring it up again later at his house. He pressed his thumb into the bandage where he knew the cut was, chewing on his bottom lip as he thought about the series of events that had led up to this. He was saved from this rabbit hole of thoughts when Yahaba plopped on the ground in front of him.

"Alright, gimme your hand," Yahaba said, reaching for Kyoutani's bandaged hand. He frowned when Kyoutani yanked it away, "This'll go a lot faster if you cooperate, Kyoutani." When the blond stopped covering his hand, Yahaba took that as permission to do what he needed to. Slowly, Yahaba reached forward and took Kyoutani's hand in his. "There we go." He took the bandage off as gently as he could, "How'd you manage this?"

"...broken glass." It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the whole truth. Kyoutani knows Yahaba noticed, but doesn't really care. "I had to clean it up." Also true, although that wasn't the part that cut his hand.

"I knew you were secretly clumsy," Yahaba teased, grinning up at Kyoutani. "What are we gonna do with you?"

"Shut up, jerk." There was no bitterness in his words, in fact, Kyoutani's lips twitched up for a brief moment in amusement. 

"I never shut up."

"Don't I know it."

Yahaba laughs and shakes his head as he dabbed at Kyoutani's cut with a cleansing wipe. His free thumb rubs small, comforting circles in the warm skin where Yahaba held Kyoutani's hand still. "You need to take care of this cut, or it'll get infected. Do you scar easily?" Kyoutani gave a small nod and Yahaba continues, "So do I. I have scars from being scratched by cats, lavender really helps stop things from scarring, but you'll have to wait until the cut has started to heal."

Kyoutani nods, watching as Yahaba puts some sort of cream on his cut. "You're good at this."

"Thanks, it's just basic cut cleaning though." Yahaba shrugs, his face heating up at the compliment. "My dad was a doctor, he always cleaned my cuts when I fell or cut myself chopping vegetables, called me his favorite patient."

"Sappy. Gross." Kyoutani snorts. He stares at Yahaba's thumb, which hasn't stopped rubbing those circles in his wrist since he got hold of it-Kyoutani was reluctant to admit he actually didn't hate it. It was nice, sort of. "Did he do the thumb thing when he cleaned your cuts?" 

Yahaba tilts his head in confusion, then nods when Kyoutani pointed at his thumb. "Oh, sorry. No, my mom actually does it. When she holds hands with someone, rests a hand on your shoulder, guides you by the arm, I guess I picked it up from her."

"You don't have to stop," Kyoutani muttered, looking away. "It's not bad."

"Someone's in a good mood, you're being cooperative and everything."

"Shut up and put the band-aid on."

"Yes, sir," Yahaba grins and turns his attention back to Kyoutani's hand. "You should be more careful when cleaning up glass. Hurts like a motherfucker."

"I can take care of myself." Kyoutani grumbles, trying to pull his hand away. "I don't need you to feel bad about it or whatever."

"I just _worry_ , Kyoutani, you know like a good captain." Yahaba rolls his eyes and holds onto Kyoutani's hand a little tighter, thumb rubbing circles again as he wraps his wound. 

"Like being the keyword there." Kyoutani smirks at the glare he receives at that, then speaks again once Yahaba was focused on putting his things back in his first aid kit. "You are, though."

"I am what?" Yahaba asked, not looking in Kyoutani's direction. 

"A good captain."

Yahaba drops the package of alcohol wipes, glancing over at Kyoutani with wide eyes. "What?"

Kyoutani scowls as he looks away, scratching the back of his neck as his face heats up. "I'm not repeating myself. Let's go back to the gym before coach accuses us of skipping out on practice. And wipe that smug grin off your face."

Yahaba put his first aid kit away and followed behind Kyoutani, grinning cheekily as he walked with an extra bounce in his step.

* * *

In the days following Yahaba cleaning his cut, Kyoutani was considerably less jumpy and defensive when it came to the setter. If he could see that it was Yahaba, he didn't flinch away when he laid a hand on his shoulder, or when he bumped their shoulders together during lunch, or when Yahaba reached out and grabbed Kyoutani's uninjured hand to show him how he'd learned to read palms. If Yahaba noticed, he didn't say anything. Others definitely noticed, though, especially when Yahaba rested his head on Kyoutani's shoulder during lunch and the only response he received was a grumble of dissatisfaction before Kyoutani pushed him off. Typically, Kyoutani would shove anyone who got that close away or flinch or some fucked mixture of both. 

There was only one bad thing that came from Kyoutani's bandaged hand, and even that he could deal with. He was used to dealing with it. 

"Mad Dog hurt his paw," a girl coos as Kyoutani walks by.

"Someone must've finally gotten one over on him."

"I bet his latest victim decided to fight back."

He was used to the comments, they were annoying more than anything. What he wasn't used to, though, was someone taking up for him.

"Do you guys ever just shut the fuck up? He's literally just walking by, Jesus Christ."

Kyoutani whips his head around and sees Yahaba glaring at the group of girls.

"He's _dangerous_ Yahaba-kun."

Yahaba snorts at that, "Dangerous, yeah, sure. The biggest threat he poses to you is that he's better at eyeliner, loving the sleep deprived raccoon look you've got going on." He smiles sweetly and shoves his hands in his pockets, head cocked to the side. "I'd appreciate it if you didn't talk about my teammates like that. I can't imagine what the soccer team's captain would think if she heard that her own underclassmen were involved in something so impolite." Yahaba walked away without another word, dragging Kyoutani along when he passed by. "C'mon, practice starts in fifteen minutes."

"I didn't need your help with that," Kyoutani grunts, pulling his sleeve from Yahaba's grasp. "They're harmless."

"It just pisses me off, that was for my own sanity more than yours." Yahaba shrugs and adjusts his bag on his shoulder, "Besides, that's what friends do."

"We're friends?"

Yahaba looks over his shoulder at Kyoutani like he'd gone mad, "Yeah? You've eaten dinner over at my house every night for a week and you eat lunch with me and our other friends every day. If we're not friends this is pretty embarrassing for me."

"Oh." Kyoutani looks down at his feet as they walk, "Cool."

\--

That night, while Kyoutani reads aloud from The Setting Sun, Yahaba rests his head in Kyoutani's lap and messes with his hand. He curls and uncurls the ace's fingers, presses the pads of their fingertips together in odd gestures, and carefully avoids the center where Kyoutani's wound lies beneath his bandage. Eventually Yahaba settles down and stares up at the ceiling as he listens, thumb rubbing circles in the skin of Kyoutani's hand. Rather than putting him on edge, this touch makes Kyoutani feel more relaxed as he reads. He decides he shouldn't overthink that fact.

* * *

When Kyoutani realizes he has feelings for Yahaba, it's a month after they first started studying together. Kyoutani is at Yahaba's house more often than his own, he's even hung out with both Yahaba and Watari after school. When Kyoutani realizes he has feelings for Yahaba, it's when he gives Kyoutani a bookmark that he'd seen in a shop. It had an enamel bee hanging from a tassel, and Yahaba said it reminded him of Kyoutani when he saw it and decided he had to get it for him. When Kyoutani realizes that he has feelings for Yahaba, it's when he smiles a self-conscious little smile that has Kyoutani legitimately weak in the knees. 

He decides he'll use the bookmark to mark their place in The Setting Sun. 

"Thank you," Kyoutani mumbles as he runs a finger over the bookmark, "You know, the book has nothing to do with bees."

"I still refuse to accept that."

Kyoutani grins, honest-to-god grins, and the sight brings a light blush to Yahaba's face. The setter already knew he had feelings for Kyoutani, and that he had for a while. That dimple wasn't doing him any favors. Kyoutani's dimples, Yahaba thought, could bring world peace, end and start wars. They were uneven, one was a little higher than the other, but Yahaba thought they were quite possibly the best thing in the world. Especially when he was the reason they were visible. 

"C'mon," Yahaba says, jumping up, "Let's go see if mom needs help with dinner."

"You just wanna steal food while she's trying to get things done," Kyoutani accuses, eyes narrowed.

"You have no proof." With that, Yahaba walks out and practically runs for the stairs. 

Kyoutani rolls his eyes before he follows. 

"Just in time!" Sara chimes when the two walk into the kitchen, smiling as she pats Kyoutani's shoulder, "I have just the job for you boys. Shigeru can you get started on baking, and Kyoutani-kun, can you chop veggies for me?"

Before Kyoutani can agree, Yahaba cuts in with a frown. "He's clumsy, he'll hurt his hand again."

Yahaba was referring, of course, to the most recent incident in which he had to clean one of Kyoutani's wounds. "I'm fine, don't baby me."

"No, maybe he's right," Sara frowned, "Shigeru, you can chop the veggies. Kyoutani-kun, do you know how to bake."

"...yes." Kyoutani looked anywhere but at Yahaba, "My mom taught me when I was younger."

"Great!" Sara ushered the boys to the counter and took off her apron, "I've gotta take the twins to the store real quick for project supplies, we'll be back in ten, fifteen minutes tops. You guys good to hold down the fort?"

"Yeah, we're fine," Yahaba waves at his mom as she walks out, then crosses over to where Kyoutani was reading the recipe Sara had laid out. Yahaba leaned over him to grab a knife, one hand resting against the small of his back and Kyoutani pretended it didn't burn even when Yahaba pulled away. 

They work in comfortable silence for a few minutes, the only sound in the kitchen being the quiet music coming from the radio. Soon, though, Yahaba clears his throat and asks: "You never told me you bake."

"You never asked," Kyoutani shrugged.

"You don't tell me much about your mom at all."

"Again," Kyoutani mumbled, "You never asked."

"I'm asking now," Yahaba said, glancing over at Kyoutani.

"Are you?"

"Yeah."

Kyoutani hummed, absentmindedly stirring the batter as he thinks. "What do you wanna know?"

"Whatever you wanna tell me." Yahaba said quietly.

"Well, she died when I was eleven. She was born in America, moved to Japan when she was twenty, then met my dad."

Yahaba pushes the slices of cucumber and tomato to the side. He puts the knife in the sink and crosses over to sit on the portion of the counter that wasn't being used. "Do you miss her?" He asks, watching Kyoutani work.

"Like hell." Kyoutani smiles wistfully, "She was awesome." After a bit of hesitation, he quietly adds "I think she would've liked you."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." Kyoutani looks up and smirks, "She was a stubborn shit too."

Yahaba snorts and stretches his leg out to lightly kick Kyoutani. "Rude. What did she look like?"

"My phone's on the counter, I have pictures of her. I don't care if you look." Kyoutani nods toward his phone.

"Cool," Yahaba reaches over and grabs Kyoutani's phone. "Look this way." Kyoutani does as he's told and Yahaba holds up his phone, using the facial recognition to unlock it. "I love technology." 

Kyoutani bites back a grin as he turns back to what he'd been doing. Yahaba scrolled through Kyoutani's pictures, mostly of wild flowers and fields and that should have been more of a surprise than it was. Finally he came to a picture of a younger Kyoutani with a woman and a kitten. "She's pretty," Yahaba comments, and she was. She had dark skin and deep brown eyes, her smile was bright and the way she looked at Kyoutani was undeniably adoring. "How old were you in that picture?"

"Hmm..." Kyoutani glances at the phone and thinks, "I was eight or nine."

"You were a cute kid, what happened?" Yahaba laughs as Kyoutani glares at him, turning off the phone and setting it to the side. 

"You're a menace, Yahaba Shigeru." Kyoutani shook his head and put the pan of batter in the oven. When he turned around Yahaba was gesturing for him to come closer, "What do you want?"

Yahaba reaches out and tugs Kyoutani closer, examining his face, "Do you have your dad's eyes?"

"What?" Kyoutani sputters, trying to pull away as Yahaba's fingers curl around his jaw. 

"I wanted to know if you had your mom's eyes, but yours are lighter," Yahaba mumbles, frowning. "You have her nose, though."

From this close, Kyoutani could see that Yahaba had freckles. They were faint, but they were there. They covered the bridge of his nose and his cheekbones. "You have freckles." 

"Astute observation, I wasn't aware." Yahaba says dryly. "They show up more in the summer." Yahaba pulls his hands away from Kyoutani's face, instead holding him by the shoulders and forcefully turning him around. Despite Kyoutani's noises of protest, Yahaba tugs him backward and rests his chin on Kyoutani's shoulder, arms wrapping his torso. "You're short."

"Shut up jerk, get off me." Kyoutani scowls, but Yahaba knows that's just his embarrassed face, so he doesn't think much about it. "You're so _touchy_."

"Mhm." Yahaba hums, tucking his face into the nape of Kyoutani's neck, "And you're constantly warm, a fucking furnace." Then, as though he could sense Kyoutani's impending objection, "Shut up and accept your fate, fuck-wad."

They stood like that until Yahaba's family got home, talking quietly as Kyoutani leaned back against Yahaba and Yahaba kept his arms securely around his waist and his face nuzzled against his neck. When Sara walked in, Kyoutani jumped away from Yahaba, much to his dismay. Sara didn't even seem to notice, though, she just thanked the boys for helping her and shooed them away. 

The two went back upstairs and Yahaba immediately shoved Kyoutani onto the bed and crawled over him. "Nap time. I'm tired."

"You don't have to manhandle me to get me to let you nap, dick," Kyoutani grumbles, shoving Yahaba away when he tries to press his cold feet against his leg. 

"You love it," Yahaba says with a grin, finally managing to tuck himself as close against Kyoutani as he could without the other boy shoving him away. "Besides, if I told you I wanted to nap you'd go downstairs and have tea with my mom because you're a loser and an annoyingly good friend."

"What's wrong with that?" Kyoutani asked defensively, frown firm in place. 

"I wanna nap with my furnace. I make Watari nap with me too sometimes, but you're warmer than he is." 

At that point, Kyoutani sighs and accepts his fate. He listens as Yahaba's breathing slowly evens out, he mumbles quietly when he sleeps and that knowledge is no good for Kyoutani's mental state. Eventually he starts to feel tired as well, and soon he was falling asleep. 

An hour later the two would wake up in a mess of tangled limbs and Kyoutani is _definitely_ not eyeing Yahaba's bedhead with intense interest. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for taking the time to read! Kudos and comments are very much appreciated!! 
> 
> in kyoutani's phone yahaba is "captain (derogatory)" in yahaba's phone kyoutani is "fuck wad (affectionate)" thank you and good night
> 
> come scream with/at me on tumblr dot com the url is polaroidsandpeachtea


	3. dandelions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> was originally only going to have three chapters but people change  
> just realized in the last chapter there was like no rosaleen the pubby and that just will not stand i am so sorry 
> 
> I'm really sorry that I haven't been able to put out updates as consistently as originally thought. A lot of stuff has been going on in my personal life, including some tough news about my injury, but things are looking up! My best friend has been helping me through all the icky stuff, and I really think things are going to be okay. That being said, I didn't want to try and update while I was in that headspace. Thank you to everyone for being patient up till now and I will try my best to be more consistent with updates, so long as my personal life permits it.

One thing Kyoutani finds out about Yahaba, something he'd really already suspected before, is that Yahaba is fucking scary.

You wouldn't expect it with the smile that seems to be his default, especially not if you only ever watch his interactions with his friends. How could someone so affectionate be considered scary? If you find yourself asking that question, you have never been on the receiving end of Yahaba's wrath. 

It happens during a practice match. Some team from a different prefecture whose name Kyoutani didn't bother to remember. Yahaba had been watching the other team's players carefully since their captain made a passive aggressive comment about Oikawa's absence meaning they could take it easy. The petty comments Yahaba dished out weren't what was scary; the way he told a player how responsible it was of him to not risk straining his already hurt ankle after noticing the brace and the way the guy had winced every time he jumped was unsettling at most. No, the scary part came after the game was over. Their team won two out of three sets, and Yahaba was talking with the other team's captain. 

They'd already been taking subtle shots at each other throughout the conversation, but Yahaba could handle people shit-talking him. He had Oikawa fucking Tooru as a mentor, any amount of time spent with that guy has at least a bit of his ego rubbing off on you. No, the problem arose when the other captain made the mistake of making backhanded comments about Yahaba's teammates. Kunimi and Kyoutani, specifically. 

"And really, you are a saint for keeping players around who just obviously don't have any kind of respect for you. Honestly they seem lazy, those two, if I were you they'd be on the bench in an instant. You're either a great captain or absolute shit when you keep players like that on the team," Somehow, the guy's sleazy smile stayed bright as ever as he said that. "But, if you think it won't wreck your chances, good for you!"

Yahaba's eyes widen, then narrow as he takes a step here, "Now you listen here-"

Kyoutani was by his side in seconds, not liking the look of what was happening. "Yaha-"

Yahaba held up a hand, signaling Kyoutani to be quiet. He opened his mouth to talk, but the other captain beat him to it. "Oh, I see. You've got the dog on a leash, makes sense."

"Fuck off."

"I've got this, Kyoutani." Yahaba doesn't even look back at him, he holds the other captain's gaze. "I think you're forgetting that _we_ beat _you_ , yeah? My team is perfectly capable, each of my teammates are perfectly capable. Kunimi is a valuable member of the team, if he wasn't he wouldn't be on the court. Kyoutani is my ace, I'm not going to bench my ace just because he's a dick. I'd have my entire team on the bench. Except for Kindaichi, obviously. You sound like the shitty captain if you're so unwilling to work with your team, so you can keep our names out of your mouth."

"God, you argue like a teenage girl," the guy laughs, rolling his eyes. "You know, I heard they call that one Mad Dog," he nods to Kyoutani, "But you're the one who sounds like a real bi-"

He didn't get the chance to finish his sentence before Yahaba was lunging forward. The other captain's eyes widened and he stumbled backwards, throwing his hands in front of his face to prep for a blow that never came. 

Kyoutani was holding Yahaba back, the setter glaring daggers at the boy in front of him as he threw useless punches, "Oh my god, let me go Kyoutani, I'm gonna wreck his shit-"

"Calm _down_ , you're going to get us both bitched at." Kyoutani grumbles, scowling as he tugs Yahaba away. 

Yahaba goes with Kyoutani, but not before he spits at the other captain's shoe, "I'll show him a fuckin' mad dog-"

"Oh my _god_ , shut the fuck up for once in your life." Kyoutani groans, only letting go of Yahaba's jersey when they were far enough away that he couldn't do anything stupid.

"Did you not hear what he was saying?" Yahaba asks, eyes wide, "About you and Kunimi? And _me_?"

"Yeah, I did. I don't fucking care. We beat them, he's an insecure piss baby, what else is there to think about?" Yahaba still looked honestly confused, so Kyoutani rolled his eyes and kept talking, "We all know the truth, Yahaba. We know ourselves, and we'll probably never see those guys again unless they somehow make it to nationals. We both know Kunimi isn't lazy-well, not unbearably so, we're working on that one. You know I'm not a disrespectful delinquent out to ruin the game, that's just my shitty personality. And we all know you're a good fucking captain, so why, then, should I give a flying fuck about what some heterosexual piss babies who probably use two-in-one shampoo say?"

Yahaba just stares at Kyoutani for a moment, eyes wide and mouth hanging open a bit. In that moment he thinks that _maybe_ he's just a little in love with Kyoutani. "That's-okay, you're right." Yahaba sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, "Man, it sure would make me feel better to just get _one_ punch in."

"You'll live, now c'mon _captain_ , your team is waiting for a speech or some shit. And your first years look terrified of you now, I bet they never give you shit again." Kyoutani snickers and shoves him forward. "You're such a menace, Yahaba Shigeru."

"A ray of sunshine as always, Kyoutani Kentarou."

They share a grin as they walk back to the team, it's small and secret and theirs. Neither would want it any other way. 

* * *

"I am _literally_ going to rip your vocal chords out of your throat if you don't shut the fuck up."

"I'm going to dissolve your fucking spinal cord."

"Can you two stop with the weirdly specific threats?" Watari asks, looking incredibly pained. "I'm trying to eat and you're scaring the second years, by second years I mean Kindaichi specifically."

"Think of the children." Kunimi adds.

"He started it!" Both Kyoutani and Yahaba shout, then turn and glare at each other. "No, you started it!"

Yahaba glared at Kyoutani, pulling out the tactic that has never failed to get Watari to back off. "You wanna kiss me, you wanna kiss me so bad it makes you look stupid." 

"I'm going to fucking throttle you."

"Funny, Watari's mom said the same thing last night."

Watari threw his hands up in exasperation, "Why are you bringing _my_ mother into this? Isn't it supposed to be Kyoutani's mom? You know, since you're arguing _with Kyoutani?"_

"Because my mom's dead, you dick."

"Yeah, even I have boundaries. Don't be an asshole."

Watari looks like he may cry. With a heavy sigh, Kunimi came to the rescue. "Why are you two fighting in the first place?"

"Well it's because-" Yahaba closed his mouth, frowning. "It's because Kyoutani..." He turned to Kyoutani, "Why are we fighting?"

"Dumbass," Kyoutani snorts, "It's because-" he blinks, brows furrowed as he thinks. "Cause Yahaba... and we... huh."

"So you don't know why you’re fighting?" Kunimi asks, squinting. 

"Guess not."

Watari slumps against the table and damn near sobs. 

\--------

After lunch, Kyoutani and Yahaba walk to class together. Kyoutani drops a book on Yahaba's desk before he goes to the back of the classroom to his seat without explanation. Yahaba doesn't let him get away with it, though. 

"What's this?" Yahaba asks, following Kyoutani to the back of the classroom. 

"A book."

Yahaba rolls his eyes and sits on Kyoutani's desk, thumbing through the pages. "Yeah, wise ass, I got that much."

"It's a Japanese translation of The Secret Life of Bees." Kyoutani mumbles, cheeks a light shade of pink as he stares down at his lap. 

"Oh," Yahaba smiles to himself, "Why?"

"Gotta prove to you that it's not about bees somehow, right?"

Yahaba laughs at that, reaching over to pat the top of Kyoutani's head before slipping his hand down to pat his cheek. "I don't know, it's pretty fun watching you try to convince me without reading the book."

Kyoutani shoves Yahaba's hand away with a scowl, "You're such a menace, Yahaba Shigeru."

"Always such a beaming ray of sunshine, Kyoutani Kentarou." 

Kyoutani was biting back a grin as he poked Yahaba's leg, and Yahaba was just blatantly _beaming_ as he flipped through the book. They'd almost forgotten where they were until the teacher clears his throat. 

"If you two are done with... whatever that is, I'd really like to get class started."

Yahaba nearly fell in his rush to scramble off Kyoutani's desk, the latter trying (and failing) to keep from snickering at the sight.

In all fairness, it was incredibly naive of the teacher to assume he'd seen the last of incidents like that when Iwaizumi and Oikawa graduated.

* * *

That night, Kyoutani sat quietly with Rosaleen in his lap as he waited for Yahaba to get done with the next problem on their maths homework. The dog was fast asleep, and Kyoutani couldn't help the fond expression that took over his face at every quiet grunt she let out as he scratched behind her ears. He thought absently that he should _definitely_ bring Totoro over one night, the two dogs would surely get along well. 

The next time Kyoutani glanced up, Yahaba was staring at him with an odd expression. His lips were parted slightly, eyes widened a bit more than normal, and a light pink blush tinted his cheekbones and the tips of his ears. 

Kyoutani scowled in embarrassment and looked away, pointedly staring down at Rosaleen to keep from meeting Yahaba's eye again. "The fuck are you looking at, Shitface?" 

That seemed to snap Yahaba out of whatever daze he'd slipped into as he cleared his throat, "Oh! Nothing, I just- Could you help me? With this problem?"

Kyoutani's gaze softened and he nodded, gently shifting Rosaleen on his lap so that he could lean forward. "Sure, I guess. Look here..." he slid closer to Yahaba and leaned over his shoulder, reaching across him with his pencil to set the problem up as he explained what he was doing. "Let's say we're working on a new quick, and it's just _almost_ perfect. It's got power," he circles one half of the problem, "The trajectory is spot-on," he circles the next one, "But there's just this _one team_ that can block it no matter what." He circles an undefined variable off to the side. "First of all, let's graph our original equation. Look," he pulls the graphing paper out and starts plotting points. "You see how I'm getting these?" Yahaba nods. "Good. Now when you connect them, you get that fucked up little swish. These points aren't a part of the problem, but we'll let them represent the team that always blocks our new quick," he plots a few points in a different colored ink. "If they're expecting it and can properly block it in this position, how do we change the play?"

Yahaba stares down at the paper, eyes narrowed as he studies it. "Instead of going for the right, we should start by going to the left."

"Yep, so that would be a reflection over the y-axis." Kyoutani writes down the first transformation. "What else?"

"Well, they're expecting it closer to the net, assuming that the x-axis is the net," he glances up for affirmation before continuing, "So we adjust trajectory and start going for the outer court."

"Exactly, and that's a dilation." Kyoutani writes that down as well, "And what's the last thing?"

Yahaba's eyes dart back down to the paper, confusion etched firmly on his face. After a few seconds, he makes a soft 'oh' and points to a blank spot on the graph, "Their libero. They'd be somewhere around here, right?" Upon Kyoutani's affirming nod, he continues. "Right, so instead of spiking from that angle, we should move over to the right a bit. Not enough to get to where we were before, but enough to throw off the libero."

Kyoutani doesn't _grin_ exactly, but there's no mistaking the look of pride on his face. "Yes, you've got it. That's a horizontal translation, or a shift but we're going to work with a translation." He writes that down, then pulls the scrap paper out again and starts listing the rules they'd gone over in class. "Now to set up the problem, we need to keep in mind our original equation as well as where the new position on the graph should end up..."

Yahaba watches Kyoutani's face as the ace sets up the problem. He doesn't mean to tune out whatever nonsense he was saying about transformations and linear equations, but it really wasn't his fault. How could he be expected to focus when that tendon in Kyoutani's neck twitched every time he clenched his jaw-and he clenched his jaw _a lot_ when he was concentrating. How on earth could he concentrate when he smelled like that? All men's cologne and strawberries-because of fucking _course_ he smells like strawberries-and something that might be vanilla but whatever it is it's intoxicating. It's so distinctly Kyoutani and really, Yahaba is embarrassed that he ever thought he could hate Kyoutani Kentarou. 

Yeah, he thought when he noticed how at some point Kyoutani's free hand had ended up rubbing gentle circles on his knee, there was no way in hell he could ever hate Kyoutani Kentarou. In fact, when Kyoutani turned his head slightly to look Yahaba in the eye and had the audacity to _smile_ , Yahaba thought that maybe he loved him a little bit. 

Love. How awesome was that? Not in a slang way, no. It wasn't awesome in the 'hey look I just beat my high score' kind of way. It was awesome in the way a religious man would claim his god to be. 

Loving Kyoutani Kentarou, Yahaba realized, was a feat that is dangerously, wonderfully, biblically, _perfectly_ , awesome. 

It was this thought that was plaguing Yahaba's mind when the door to his bedroom slammed open, making both of the two boys jump and eliciting a disgruntled 'hmf' from Rosaleen. 

"Okaasan said to come down for dinner. She also said she needed to talk to you separately, Shiggy-chan." Yahaba's younger sister spoke without looking up, then turned on her heel and walked out. 

"Right- well, I'll-uhm unless you-do--"

Kyoutani cut off Yahaba's stammering with a light smack to the shoulder, "Chill out Yahaba, go talk to your mom. I'll clean up here and help Rosaleen get downstairs."

Once Yahaba had finally walked out, Kyoutani shook his head and looked down at the basset hound in his lap. "He's a mess, Rosaleen," he whispered, "I can't believe I like _him_ of all people."

With that, Kyoutani carefully set Rosaleen to the side while he got up, then scooped her back up into his arms. She was about half his size, but Kyoutani managed to carry her just fine. He even managed to get her little wheelchair downstairs all on his own. 

At the end of the night, Yahaba Sara hugged Kyoutani Kentarou. For the first time in all the weeks Kyoutani had been coming over nearly every night, he didn't flinch when she stepped forward with open arms.   
That night, Yahaba Sara cried. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for taking the time to read! Comments and kudos are always appreciated!!
> 
> next time:  
> -yahaba screams bloody murder only to be caught _laughing_  
>  \- #TotoroProtectionSquad  
> -father son bonding (disdainful)
> 
> come scream with/at me on tumblr dot com! url is: polaroidsandpeachtea


	4. dad (derogatory)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> trigger warning on this chapter, non-graphic child abuse and gaslighting
> 
> feat. KinKuni

The two boys always studied at Yahaba's house. 

Well, that is to say, they always studied at Yahaba's house until they didn't. 

The first day they decide to go to Kyoutani's house is normal, for the most part. Kyoutani is on edge, though, throughout the entire day. He knows that his dad will be out, so he's not worried about that, but the entire day he can't help thoughts of _Did I remember to clean... Did I ever pick up... Am I sure that we... What if he thinks..._ It's exhausting, really. 

Imagine his relief when they get to Kyoutani's house and Yahaba _loves_ it. 

When they get there, Kyoutani tells Yahaba which door upstairs is his while he goes to the kitchen to get them some drinks. He nearly drops the two bottles of pop when he hears the scream and sprints up the stairs expecting to find some sort of ax murderer hacking away at his crush. What he actually finds is Yahaba on the ground _giggling_ while Totoro, an older pit bull, is on top of him licking his face. 

"What the fuck." Kyoutani leans against his doorframe, catching his breath. "You asshole, I thought something happened."

Yahaba tilts his head back to look at Kyoutani and _really_ that smile is so unfair when his heart is already racing. "Sorry!" He said in a sing-song voice that told Kyoutani that the little shit was not sorry in the slightest. 

"Whatever," Kyoutani sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose before handing Yahaba a bottle of pop. "Let's just get started."

"But I wanna explore your room!" Yahaba whined, pushing Totoro off of him so that he could get up. "Please?"

Kyoutani eyed the setter warily before nodding with a sigh, "Yeah, sure. Go ahead."

Yahaba beamed and started snooping around, smile bright on his face as he looked around the room. 

Kyoutani was proud of his room, he'd worked hard to get it this way, but that didn't mean he wasn't embarrassed to have someone poking around in there. His bed was halfway pushed in his closet, shelves lining the walls around his bed and string lights hanging over it. His many pillows lined the walls around his bed, and one of his blankets stuck out over the rest. It was a pale yellow, bright in comparison to the earth tones of his other blankets. The arrangement of the blanket made it obvious that that was Totoro's designated blanket. Books and trinkets littered the shelves around Kyoutani's bed, his own personal library. 

In one of the corners of Kyoutani's room, a record player sat atop a dresser. It looked old and beat up, and naturally immediately caught Yahaba's eye. The setter sent Kyoutani a curious look.

"It was my mom's," Kyoutani mumbled. "It was broken when she and I found it when I was little, but we fixed it together. Some of the records were hers when she was a teenager."

Yahaba nods and turns his attention to the milk crate next to the dresser, eagerly flipping through the albums. "Most of these are in English."

"Yeah, I've told you that she was from America." Kyoutani pushes off the doorframe and walks over to where Yahaba knelt on the ground. "A couple of those I remember her getting, though. When I was little. She had very few organizational rules, but one of them that she always made sure I knew was that you never put a Tupac album next to a Biggie album in her system. The ones you like best go closest to the direction you usually start flipping from, and to put Biggie and Tupac albums right next to each other is to claim they're on the same level."

"Are they not?" Yahaba asked, frowning lightly.

"Nah, Tupac rapped about real shit. He was a poet above everything else, and he wrote about his shit life and how other people had shit lives too, but he never did it in a complaining way. It was just like an acknowledgement of the fact life is universally and consistently shit. And yet we keep on living, you keep on living and creating and maybe make the world a little less shit than how you found it."

"And Biggie?"

Kyoutani grinned, "My mom always said Biggie was for bangin', 'Pac was for prayin'."

Yahaba smiled and put the records back the way he found them before standing up again. He wandered over and inspected the shelves by Kyoutani's bed, gently running his fingers across framed pictures. Yahaba hums absently and moves on, smile still tugging at his lips as he looked through Kyoutani's CDs. His fingers stilled when he saw something on one of the bookshelves outside Kyoutani's closet. 

"You have a walkman?"

Kyoutani blushes lightly but nods, "Yeah. That was my mom's, too. Her cassettes are in a box over here..." he trails off and goes over to find the box, then hands it to Yahaba. "Feel free to look through 'em."

After going through the cassettes for a while, Yahaba pulls one out with no official label. "This one's just written on, it's just got a date on it."

Despite the dread building in Kyoutani's stomach, he clears his throat and nods. "Yeah, she uh- she recorded some tapes of her own. You can play it, if you're curious. Nothing all that personal in 'em."

Yahaba nods and puts the cassette in the walkman, making sure the volume is up before he presses play. 

A deep, alto voice comes through, "Is it recording? Yes! Okay-okay- say hi, Ken!"

A little boy's voice come then, "Hi!"

"Someday you're going to listen to these tapes when you're big and strong, just like your daddy. We'll make sure to play them at your wedding, when you marry a beautiful princess!"

"What if I wanna prince instead, huh Okaasan? Princesses sound ucky, but princes are all cool and they have nice hair-"

"Either way we'll be havin' a royal wedding for you, prince or princess. But keep in mind that in the early mornin', even princes and princesses got some nappy hair."

"You don't, though!"

"Well, baby, we can't all be blessed like your mama. You've got my hair too, though, and it's just as beautiful as mine. Don't you ever forget it, Ken. Your hair is just as beautiful as anyone else's, and if anyone tells you any different they're lyin' or they don't have any taste. We don't got any time for people who don't got any taste, baby."

Yahaba stops the tape, looking up at Kyoutani with a soft smile. "She sounds nice."

"She was." Kyoutani says. "I remember that day, it was after a kid at school made fun of me for my hair. I was upset and came home asking my mom why I had to look so much different from the other kids."

"I like your hair," Yahaba says quietly as he looks through the rest of the cassettes. "My knowledge of hair is very limited, meaning I only know how to braid my sister's hair, but I know I like yours."

Kyoutani shifts awkwardly, staring down at his hands. "Uh... thanks."

But Yahaba was already popping another unlabeled cassette into the walkman, and after a few seconds the same woman's voice came filtering through, this time singing. Yahaba frowns and rewinds the tape, "It's in english," he mumbles, trying to focus on the words.

Kyoutani rolls his eyes and takes the walkman from Yahaba, rewinding it and letting it play. 

_Tonight you're mine completely._

Kyoutani echoes the words in Japanese, quietly keeping the same melody the best that he could. 

_You give your love, so sweetly._ _Tonight the light of love is in your eyes, but will you love me tomorrow?_

Yahaba stares in slight awe up at Kyoutani, listening intently. 

Kyoutani stops singing when his mother does, the stop abrupt as his mother dissolves into melodic laughter. She speaks in Japanese, then.

"Leave me be, you fiend!" 

A man's voice comes through with an amused lilt, "Why should I? I'm tryin' to get some lovin'."

"Mm, and I'm tryin' to have some fun." 

"Having fun by baring your heart?"

"Nah, baby, I'm baring my soul."

"Well I'll tell you what, our daughter is away for the night... we're gonna be all alone, there's so many other fun things to get up to."

"Mhm, you just keep talkin' don't you?"

More laughter comes from both of them before the tape cuts off.

"That was cute," Yahaba comments. 

"Yeah, I guess. It was obviously before I was born." 

"Can we listen to some of the actual music cassettes?" Yahaba asks, "I've never heard of some of these artists."

Kyoutani nods and walks over to flop on his bed, scratching behind Totoro's ears when he trudges over to lay with him. "Yeah, c'mon and bring the walkman. We can get the independent reading assignment over with first."

Yahaba does as instructed, making sure to grab his book as well before sitting on the bed. He crossed his legs and put a cassette in before opening his book. 

_I'm In Love Again_ by Fats Domino started playing. 

* * *

You may have gotten the impression that Kyoutani's father is perpetually, for lack of a better word, dickish. While you wouldn't be completely wrong, it's not completely correct either. Sometimes Kyoutani's father was just _sad_ , plain and simple. 

Kyoutani Yoshirou is a complicated man. When he's home, he wanders the halls absently, as though he can never remember what he walked into a room to do. Some nights he walks into Kyoutani's room and just stares at him for a few minutes before walking out again. Since Kyoutani has started going over to the Yahaba residence, Yoshirou has simply stared at the bed where his son would be if he were home. He rarely sleeps in his own bedroom, instead opting to sleep in the guest room or on the couch. He walks into his bedroom some nights, fully intent on sleeping in his own bed, but then as soon as he walks in he's overwhelmed with a sense of _wrongness_ so potent that he turns on his heel and walks back to the living room. 

Some nights he looks at his son and sees his wife, sick and in and out of the hospital and making promises she couldn't keep. Some nights he doesn't fully comprehend that it's Kentarou standing in front of him, some nights all he knows is that what he's seeing isn't his wife--it's _fake_ and _wrong_ and she's _still gone_ and he can't focus until he's broken that mirage like broken promises. 

If Kentarou gets caught in the crossfire of this war between Yoshirou and reality, that's not _his_ fault. He would never hurt Kentarou on purpose, after all.

Sometimes Yoshirou forgets that Kentarou chooses to spend his time at the Yahaba residence now. Ironically, the times that he forgets are the few times when he's fully sober. He cooks for two, orders for two, heats up leftovers for two, only to then realize that he's the only one there. Kentarou will be back later, he tells himself. It doesn't change the fact that this feeling, this _wrongness_ , it's far too similar to when he first had to stop cooking for four, then when he had to stop cooking for three. He could pretend that it didn't hurt, and he does try to. But it's never easy to realize your son prefers the house of a stranger to his home. 

He pets Totoro absently, feeds the cat he doesn't remember getting. Then he's back to wandering. He wanders and wanders, because there's nothing good on TV and he can't keep telling himself that he's not an alcoholic if he keeps drinking every time it's silent--so he wanders. He walks through his house, creaks up the stairs, steps out on the balcony, enters rooms only to leave after opening a single drawer--it was so odd. 

Sometimes he would find those open drawers and be reminded that he was the only one who could have done it. It seemed like the kind of thing you read about in horror novels, and he briefly thinks that it would be easier if it _was_ a supernatural force of some kind. But no, it was only him. 

Kyoutani Yoshirou was a ghost haunting his own house. 

* * *

It was after Kyoutani got back from Yahaba's house one night, he walked into his house and froze as soon as he got to the kitchen. Kyoutani's father was standing in the middle of the room, staring off blankly. Kyoutani tried to hurriedly make it to the stairs, but his father noticed him. 

"Kentarou," he called. "Come here."

Slowly, Kyoutani turned around and walked up to his father. "Yes?"

Yoshirou raised a hand, frowning when Kyoutani flinched. He didn't comment, though, and continued forward. "You're never home anymore."

"Yeah, I uh-I tutor this guy. He's on my team." Kyoutani answers, stiffening when his father placed his palm against Kyoutani's cheek-the touch uncharacteristically gentle. 

"That's good, that you have friends now." Yoshirou pats Kyoutani's cheek with a nod. "Very good."

They stood in silence for a few moments, Yoshirou just staring down at his son, somehow truly staring _down_ at him despite the fact that Kyoutani was now a few centimeters taller than him. 

"You look just like her," Kyoutani's father said at last. "Have I told you that?"

"Yeah," Kyoutani nods, "You have."

"Mm," Yoshirou nods. "Good. Are you and that friend of yours close?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"Good, that's good. That is all he is, though, right?" Yoshirou squeezes Kyoutani's cheek slightly, "A friend?"

Kyoutani does his best not to wince at the added pressure on his cheek, "Y-yes. He's just a friend, I promise."

"Good. I'm not gonna have a fairy as a son, but I knew you wouldn't disappoint me, Kentarou." He slides his hand back to grip the back of Kyoutani's neck. "Always so good at following directions, such a good son. You won't disappoint me, I know you won't. You need me, Kentarou, and you know I need you, too. It's just you and me and everyone else, Kentarou, you understand?" Kyoutani nods the best that he can. "Good, because you need to understand that. I have your best interest at heart, Kentarou, I just want the best for you. I know what's best for you. I am a _good_ dad. I am the one who will always love you, Kentarou, other people come and go but family is forever. You need me, you _do_." He tightens his grip on Kyoutani's neck, his knuckles turning white as he adjusts his hold on Kyoutani, now having his thumb pressed against the pulse point on his son's throat. "Do you understand, Kentarou?"

"You're-it's too tight-" Kyoutani rasps out.

"Do you _understand_?" Yoshirou asks again, tightening his hold on Kyoutani once more. 

"Please-" Kyoutani grunts, "It's too-"

"Answer me, Kentarou." Yoshirou barks, lips twisted into a snarl. "Do you understand? Do you know that you _need_ me? Do you realize that you're so _little_ without me?" Kyoutani makes a series of strangled noises when Yoshirou tightens his grip again. "Answer me, damnit!"

"Yes!" Kyoutani finally manages, reaching up to try and pry Yoshirou's hand off of him. "Yes, I understand, now let me _go_."

Pleased with this answer, Yoshirou lets go of his son then stares down at his hand, as though only just now processing that it had even been wrapped around him. He shakes his head, mumbling something to himself before he brushes past Kyoutani, "I'm going out, make sure you go to bed at a reasonable time. You have basketball practice."

Once Yoshirou is gone, Kyoutani quietly corrects him. "I play volleyball. Like Okaasan did."

* * *

"Okay hear me out, what if I get him to punch me in the face and then confess when we're in the principal's office together?"

"Oh, yeah, because nothing screams romance like a bloody nose."

Yahaba groaned and slumped forward, resting his forehead on Watari's shoulder. "This is _serious_ , what am I gonna do?"

"Well," Watari starts, patting Yahaba's back. "You could, now this is just a thought, tell him you like him like a normal human being."

"Don't be ridiculous, Watari," Yahaba sat up and rolled his eyes. "That would never work."

"You better work quick," Kunimi offered from his and Kindaichi's area of the grass. "I heard someone else has their eyes on our lovely ace."

Yahaba snaps his head toward Kunimi, narrowing his eyes. "I thought you were asleep."

"Nah." Slowly, Kunimi opens his eyes and smiles a sly, lazy smile. "I was just listening."

"Speak, problem child." 

"Mm, five hundred yen." 

"Don't be ridiculous," Watari says, "There's no way Yahaba will-"

"Here," Yahaba says, already handing over the money. "Now tell me what you know."

Kunimi looks at the money, then sits up from where his head had been resting in Kindaichi's lap. He tucks the money in the pocket of Kindaichi's uniform before speaking. "Well, first of all, where did you _think_ he was going during lunch today? We're his only friends."

"Wait so you mean to say he's-"

"Yes, genius, he's getting confessed to. Don't get worked up, though, he's going to reject her." Kunimi eyes his fingernails before slipping a hand in Kindaichi's coat pocket and pulling out his nail file, "I happen to know that that girl specifically annoys him." 

"How do you know that?" Yahaba asks, frowning in confusion. 

"Because," Kunimi smiles slightly to himself and blows on his nail before going back to filing. "She's the one who made fun of you. It's kind of common knowledge that Kyoutani doesn't give anyone who says bad things about his teammates the time of day, but like-especially you. It's kind of sweet in a gross kind of way." Kunimi glances up and his smile turns sickly sweet, "Another five hundred yen to hear about the ones you _do_ have to worry about."

Reluctantly, Yahaba pulls his wallet out and grumbles as he forks over another five hundred yen. "Hope you know you're doing sprints at practice this afternoon."

"Figured," Kunimi said as he tucked the money into Kindaichi's uniform pocket. "Anyways, there's like, three first years on the team who are in love with Kyoutani. One of them more than the others, like seriously. It's like how Kindaichi was with Iwaizumi-san last year."

Kindaichi blushes at that and opens his mouth to object, but Kunimi shoots him a look. 

"You fawned over him and you know it, there's no use denying it. It's not like I'm mad about it or anything, I get it." Kunimi shrugs, "Besides, you're mine and there's no way Oikawa would let you snatch Iwaizumi-san away from him anyway." Kunimi smiles faintly and looks back down at his nails, moving on to the next hand as he keeps speaking. "As I was saying, the first year wing spiker's got it bad for Kyoutani. Don't tell me you haven't noticed the heart eyes, Yahaba."

"Yeah, obviously I noticed," Yahaba grits out, clenching his jaw. "It just didn't occur to me until now to think any further about it."

"Kyoutani seems to like him more than the other first years, obviously I wouldn't take it to heart," Kunimi looks up at Yahaba and has the audacity to _smirk_. "But I also can't guarantee that the first year won't try and shoot his shot."

\--------

That afternoon at practice, Yahaba watches the first year Kunimi mentioned with what was probably an unreasonable amount of suspicion. He seethed every time Kyoutani would casually slap the kid on the back in approval or touch his shoulder and the kid would have the absolute _audacity_ to look star struck. It was very much Not Fair and Yahaba didn't like it, not one bit. 

Yahaba has been told, on many occasions, that he can be very petty. This practice proved it. He sent most of his tosses to Kindaichi, but this plan backfired _severely_ when Kyoutani suggested that he take the younger wing spiker aside so they could work together since Yahaba seemed to think Kindaichi was more in need of one on one. It wasn't anything personally against Yahaba, and logically he understood this. Sadly, jealousy is not logical. Jealousy said 'he would rather be one on one with a first year than you' and it had Yahaba's blood _boiling._ Naturally, he sent Kindaichi to work on receives and whistled to get Kyoutani's attention. 

He couldn't very well just pull him away from one on one with the first year, no, he needed probable cause. 

"Kyoutani! Let's show him that new quick, your form has been really good on it lately." 

Miraculously, the ace nods and motions for the first year to follow him before jogging back over to Yahaba's side of the net. They set it up, and within seconds Kyoutani has gone from one end of the court to the other and is winding back _above_ _the fucking net_ before slamming his palm against the ball. The volleyball is sent hurtling to the other side of the net, echoing loudly when it slams against the court. 

Yahaba and Kyoutani turn towards each other, mirroring one another's excitement in their wide eyes and wider grins. It was the best they'd done on that quick so far, and it was so fucking brilliant. Lost in the excitement, Yahaba flings his arms around Kyoutani's neck with a whoop, and laughs breathlessly when the ace wraps his arms around Yahaba's waist. 

"You did it!" Yahaba cheers, "That was so awesome, you really did it!"

Kyoutani grinned crookedly, and somewhere off to the side a first year dropped his ball at the sight. " _We_ did it, you dumbass." 

Someone cleared their throat, and simultaneously the two boys remembered that they were, in fact, in the middle of practice. They quickly separated, and Yahaba threw the first year wing spiker a smug grin.

The rest of practice, Yahaba would shoot the first year a glare every now and then when he was getting a _little_ too close to Kyoutani. Every now and then he'd make up some excuse to drag Kyoutani over to practice with him, help him with stretching, help him show Kindaichi how to get this one spike technique down, _anything_. Honestly, it was starting to get on Kyoutani's nerves. And Kyoutani was never one to sugarcoat things.

"What the fuck was that about?" Kyoutani asks after practice, once it's only the two of them in the locker room. 

Yahaba sent Kyoutani a puzzled look, "I don't know what you mean."

"The hell you don't," Kyoutani scoffed, "You were giving that first year shit the whole practice. What'd he do?"

"Nothing," Yahaba pursed his lips, "If you're so worried about him, why are you talking to me?"

"Because, _captain_ ," Kyoutani said with a snarl, "I don't really give enough shits to talk to him about it, and I know he hasn't done anything, so that means there's a problem with you. If I'm gonna have to talk feelings shit with someone, it's gonna have to be you to get whatever the fuck this is worked out. And some fucking dumbass told me that when things get rough on a team, you stick it out and work it out."

"Wow whoever said that sounds really smart and sexy-"

"Can you just _shut up_ and tell me what's going on?" Kyoutani sighs in exasperation and pinches the bridge of his nose. "You're never like this, Yahaba. You're a good fucking captain and you have never taken your shit out on a teammate, especially not a first year."

"I don't have any shit to take out on anyone, Kyoutani." Yahaba shot one of his best smiles at Kyoutani. "I'm perfectly _fine_ , maybe your little first year should've been paying more attention to practice and less on kissing your-"

Yahaba didn't get to finish his sentence before Kyoutani had him shoved against the lockers. His eyes widened as he stared at Kyoutani, who was scowling at him with his arms on either side of Yahaba's head. 

"What the fuck is going on with you, Yahaba? You're being such a shit to that first year- and for what? Liking me better than you? Is it _so hard_ to believe that someone would like me better than you? You want the fucking attention and respect for yourself? Huh, _captain_?"

"Oh, fuck off," Yahaba scoffs, rolling his eyes. "That's not what this is about any you know it, of course I know people are going to like you better than me. No one likes their captain, it's kind of a rule."

"Then what's your problem?" 

"Maybe I'm just having a rough day, Kyoutani," Yahaba mumbles, leaning his head back against the lockers. "It was wrong of me to take it out on that first year, but maybe I was just having a bad day and you weren't at lunch-and maybe seeing you is one of the better parts of my bad days. And maybe I came to practice thinking 'at least I still have practice with him' and maybe I overreacted when someone other than me was taking up your time."

Kyoutani frowns, though this time more out of confusion than frustration. "What? Why would-why would seeing me make your day any less shitty?"

"In case you didn't notice," Yahaba sighs and pushes Kyoutani away enough that his brain can stop malfunctioning, "You're one of my closest friends. We have fun when we're at each other's houses, of course I feel comfortable around you. Naturally that means I feel better when I'm with you. I had my Watari time, but you weren't at lunch."

"Huh," Kyoutani thinks for a second, then shakes his head slightly. "That still doesn't mean you should take it out on a first year."

"You're right, as much as it pains me to say it." Yahaba groans, "I'll apologize tomorrow."

"Good."

Yahaba nodded, then frowned when his gaze dipped down to Kyoutani's neck. "What happened here?" He asks softly, raising a hand to brush a thumb over a bruise and cut on Kyoutani's throat. "Did you clean that?"

"Huh?" Kyoutani reaches up and winces when he feels the bruise and cut, his father's fingernail must've dug further in than he'd thought. "Oh. I didn't know there was a cut..."

"Dummy," Yahaba shook his head and kept rubbing gentle circles around the bruise, "It looks like it hurt."

"Not really," Kyoutani lies, pointedly looking away.

Yahaba thinks about leaning in and kissing the bruise, then he realizes with a start that he wasn't just _thinking_ about doing it. Kyoutani tensed in front of him when Yahaba gently brushed his lips against the bruise. 

"We'd better get ready to go." Yahaba said quietly when he pulled away, deciding to simply not acknowledge the gay ass thing he just did.

"Yeah," Kyoutani's voice came out strangled and he cleared his throat, quickly moving away to go grab his bag. "Let's go."

During the walk to Yahaba's house, their hands brushed together a total of thirteen times (Yahaba counted) before Kyoutani hooked their pinkies together. When Yahaba glanced over, there was a dark blush tinting Kyoutani's cheeks and ears. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for taking the time to read! Kudos and comments are very much appreciated!!
> 
> Come scream with/at me on tumblr dot com! url is: polaroidsandpeachtea


	5. every little thing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You're wrong, you know. That book had everything to do with bees."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> part two of Yoshirou Is Not Mentally Stable <3 literally homeboy needs some therapy   
> anyways trigger warnings for the following: child abuse, gaslighting, and i'm going to go ahead and provide a trigger warning for yoshirou's delusion. it's like not graphically described at all bc this is a kyoutani centric fic not yoshirou centric but you can definitely tell that what's happening is because of a delusion so. trigger warning just in case
> 
> the happy ending tag is not a lie i promise everything is fine there's a sappy ass ending and some gay ass bullshit

Of all the ways to confess, Yahaba never thought it would be like this. 

He'd just finished The Secret Life of Bees and he was inconsolable. He pulled on his house shoes and left the house in the middle of the night, not even bothering to change out of his usual sweatpants and the newest addition to his sleepwear, a hoodie that Kyoutani lended to him and never asked to take back. In the middle of his walk to Kyoutani's house, it started raining. It was just sprinkling at first, but soon enough that turned into a downpour. 

When he finally made it to Kyoutani's house, he was drenched. Him and his blue pajama pants with yellow crowns, his kitten paw slippers that meow with every step you take, the black hoodie with 'Kyoutani' written across the back in blue lettering. He was a mess, in every sense of the word. He thought briefly that he was in no state to see _anybody,_ let alone one of his best friends/crush. That thought was immediately followed by 'Fuck you I'm Yahaba Shigeru and I'm hot no matter what'. In the end, the latter of the two thought processes won as he started banging on the front door. He knew that Kyoutani's dad was gone, so it was safe to be as loud and annoying as he pleased. 

"What the fuck do you-" Kyoutani cut himself off when he took in Yahaba's current state. "Shit." He slowly stepped to the side, "Come in?"

Yahaba nodded and stepped inside, his face burning in embarrassment at the 'meows' that echoed with every step until he took the wet house shoes off. 

"Jesus Christ, Yahaba" Kyoutani groans, dragging Yahaba upstairs by the hand. "It's pouring outside, you're gonna catch a cold. Let's get you some dry clothes, that's my hoodie anyway, heathen. Just steal another one."

Yahaba was silent the whole way to Kyoutani's room. He didn't speak until Kyoutani had given him the dry clothes.

"I know what you mean now, about the difference between a fighter and a survivor."

"What?" Kyoutani looked over his shoulder at Yahaba. "What're you talkin' about?"

"The first time you were at my house, you told me that Rosaleen was a survivor, not a fighter. I know what you meant by that, now." 

That tendon in Kyoutani's neck that's caused Yahaba so much grief twitches as the blond clenches his jaw. "Yeah?"

"Yeah." Yahaba nods decidedly and finally looks up from the ground to face Kyoutani. "You're a survivor, not a fighter, aren't you? That's why you like the book so much. She got out, the little girl. She's a fighter, you're a survivor. I think that makes you stronger than her, though."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Kyoutani scoffs and tries to walk away, but Yahaba catches him by the wrist. He doesn't grab him, the touch isn't rough, Kyoutani could very easily get out if he wanted to. He doesn't though, he lets Yahaba hold him by the wrist, lets him rub those calming circles in his skin.

"You could get out of here, I know you could. You've told me about your sister, you've let slip a couple times that she's offered to let you live with her. If it were me, I think I would run and live with her." Yahaba takes a step closer, sliding his hand down from Kyoutani's wrist to hold his hand instead. "But you stay, because despite what hell he must put you through, you love your dad, don't you?"

"Of course I do," Kyoutani mumbles, "He's my dad. How did you-Have you known this whole time?"

Yahaba shakes his head, "No, I had a theory, but I didn't know for sure until I finished reading that book. Then it all kinda clicked. You're not like that little girl, though, you're much stronger, because you're willing to survive instead of fight. It takes a lot of courage to survive, Kyoutani Kentarou."

"And you don't--" Kyoutani bites down on the inside of his cheek and looks away, "You're not gonna tell anybody?"

"Not unless you want me to, no." Yahaba reassures him, "This isn't my business, it's not my father. You know him better than I do, and this is our third year, worst case scenario you're over at my house more often than not anyways. If you think someone needs to be told I'll tell, but I'm not going to take that decision away from you."

Kyoutani looks back to Yahaba, managing a small smile. "Thanks, captain."

"No problem, fuck face." 

They stand in silence for a few moments, Yahaba still in his wet clothes and holding Kyoutani's hand like if he lets go he'll float away. Eventually, Kyoutani came to his senses and let go of Yahaba's hand, looking away with a flushed face. "You need to change before you get sick, dumbass."

Yahaba nods, stepping away. "Yeah, you're right. Sorry."

"Don't apologize, just-put on the damn clothes." Kyoutani opened his mouth to say something more, then sighed and shook his head before turning to busy himself with something in his room.

Yahaba quickly changed out of the wet clothes and into what Kyoutani had given him. The sweatpants cut off a few centimeters above his ankles while the hoodie draped off one shoulder if he wasn't careful. He put the clothes where Kyoutani instructed, then collapsed on the bed. The string-lights twinkled in the closet above Kyoutani's bed, and a song by some older band played from the walkman. 

"Why did you put your bed in your closet?" Yahaba asked when Kyoutani finally sat on the bed. 

"Dunno, felt like it."

The two boys shifted until they were facing each other on their sides, less than a foot of space between them. Kyoutani decided at that moment that he really liked the way Yahaba looked in his room. The warm glow of the flickering string-lights highlighted his features, casted shadows beneath every edge and corner of Yahaba's face. Occasionally a song the setter knew would come on and his eyes would flutter shut, a content smile taking over as he hummed along quietly. In those moments, Yahaba would tilt his head back a bit and really, the view of his jawline and throat from that angle was going to kill Kyoutani. 

"I really like your room," said Yahaba. "It's cozy, especially at night."

"Thanks, it took a while to get it like this. I'm pretty proud of it." Kyoutani tensed slightly when Yahaba raised his hand, but relaxed into the touch when he started tracing shapes on Kyoutani's chest and up to the skin right behind his ear. "What're you doing?"

"I'm making a Kyoutani map," Yahaba said simply, "Why do you ask?"

"Oh, how stupid of me I should have known." Kyoutani rolled his eyes and reached up to stop Yahaba's hand, only to flush a light shade of red when the brunet took the opportunity to lace their fingers together. 

Yahaba grins and squeezes Kyoutani's hand, "Gotcha." He said quietly, letting their hands fall between them without letting go. "Oh, I actually know this one." Yahaba mumbled when the next song came on, apparently completely forgetting all thoughts of his 'Kyoutani map'. 

"Do you?"

"Mhm." 

Kyoutani watches as Yahaba's eyes predictably fall shut, that same content smile on his face as he nods his head along. Nervously, Kyoutani sings along in a quiet voice. "These arms of mine, they are lonely. Lonely and feeling blue."

Yahaba opens his eyes when Kyoutani starts singing, a light blush dusting over his cheeks as he listens intently. 

"These arms of mine," Kyoutani continues, "They are yearning, yearning from wanting you. And if you would let them hold you, oh, how grateful I would be."

There was no train of thought that led Yahaba to his next action. There was no decision made, there was only Kyoutani's voice filling his head and heart so full that he was left almost dizzy. One second he was staring at Kyoutani's lips, the next he was pressing his own against them, the song continuing to play in the background. He thought briefly that this is in no way how he wanted this moment to happen. He'd pictured it so many times, him making some grand romantic gesture, delivering some sort of speech on his affections, maybe one of them would cry. But, then again, that's not how love works. It's not grand gestures and being a knight in shining armor, it's being a stupid, impulsive teen and tipping over the edge because of what seems to be the _smallest_ thing—but then, it's the small things that stack on top of each other to form the Kyoutani that Yahaba caught himself falling for anyways, isn't it? Maybe love is all those little things piling up until you can't take it anymore and suddenly you're not just _thinking_ about kissing them. The problem with planning a confession is that you can't plan love, you don't plan on falling in love with people—Yahaba definitely hadn't planned on falling for Kyoutani Kentarou of all people, and yet here he is. It's past midnight, he's wearing clothes that aren't his, These Arms of Mine by Otis Redding is playing in the background, and he is kissing Kyoutani Kentarou. 

After taking a moment to process the fact that _Yes this is really happening,_ Kyoutani kisses back. He grips onto Yahaba's— _his_ —hoodie, his face burning in embarrassment. It was messy, at first, with teeth meeting skin where they shouldn't and a little too much saliva for either's preference, but it was undeniably _their's_. They soon fell into a rhythm and the kiss mellowed into something that could be savored. 

"Holy shit," Kyoutani whispered when they broke apart, foreheads pressed together. 

"Agreed." Yahaba laughed breathlessly and bumped their noses together. "That was—you wanted that as much as I did, right? Like—I didn't, I didn't force that, did I?"

"God, shut up," Kyoutani groans before pulling Yahaba in for another, shorter kiss. "I would've pushed you off if I didn't want it."

"Fair point," Yahaba mumbles, feeling a little dizzy but _listen_ , it is completely reasonable to be a little dizzy after kissing your crush. "So, if I ask you to go out with me, you'll say yes?"

Kyoutani was silent for a while, long enough for Yahaba to start backtracking. 

"I mean—I don't have to, like we can just keep being friends. We'll be those friends that kissed that one time, we don't have to—"

"No, that's not what I meant," Kyoutani said, refusing to meet Yahaba's eye. "I just... why me?"

"Because," Yahaba took a deep, trembling breath. "I like you, a lot. I like most things about you, _a lot_. And I'm not good at the whole expressing myself thing like Oikawa was but you don't give a shit, you look at me like I'm your favorite author every time I give one of my shitty captain speeches. I'm really sorry that I'm not good at saying nice things, and I'm really difficult and I get on your ass about the littlest things but it's just because I _know_ how brilliant you can be. Jesus _fucking_ Christ you're brilliant, and one of the most beautiful boys ever and I just _want you_. Isn't that enough? That I want you?"

"Okay," Kyoutani says at last, nodding. "Okay, I believe you. I'll—yeah, I'll go out with you, Yahaba."

"Great, okay. Yeah." Yahaba nods, moving impossibly closer to Kyoutani and snaking his arm around the ace's waist. "Can I kiss you again?"

"God, yes." 

Yahaba grins at that, sliding his hand up to cradle the back of Kyoutani's head as he presses their lips together once again. Kyoutani cards his fingers through Yahaba's hair, like he's wanted to do for _months_. After the fourth time Yahaba rolls over on his arm uncomfortably, he pulls away with a frustrated huff. 

"Roll over on your back, this is uncomfy." He mumbles, shifting so that Kyoutani can move easily. 

Kyoutani sighs, but does as he's told and moves until he's laying back against the pillows propped up where his bed meets the wall. Once he's situated, Yahaba maneuvers himself to sit in Kyoutani's lap with his legs on either side of his torso. 

"There we go," Yahaba grins. "Much better." 

Their lips met once again, Yahaba sliding his hands up to cradle Kyoutani's face, fingers curled around his jaw and tracing small shapes because he has never, not a single day in his life, been able to sit still. Kyoutani smiled against Yahaba's mouth, holding onto his setter's waist tightly. His grip tightened when Yahaba had the absolute _audacity_ to nibble on his bottom lip and act like Kyoutani was supposed to be able to function after that. 

"You're an absolute _menace_ , Yahaba Shigeru." Kyoutani mumbled against Yahaba's lips. 

"As always, you're a wonderful ray of sunshine, Kyoutani Kentarou." Yahaba answered in a whisper, leaning back to look into Kyoutani's eyes with absolute, undeniable affection. "Can I sleep over?"

"I don't see why not," Kyoutani shrugged. "You can take the bed, I'll get the—"

"Just sleep in the bed with me, dumbass." 

"Right, yeah, that also works."

Yahaba snickers and slides off Kyoutani's lap, settling in next to him instead. Kyoutani leaned up and got a book off his shelf, something akin to a smile tugging at his lips when Yahaba leaned his head against his shoulder. 

"You were wrong, you know," said Yahaba absently, "The book had everything to do with bees."

* * *

Sometimes Kyoutani Yoshirou did things he never thought he'd do. Sometimes he looks at his son's newest bruise and his own aching knuckles and feels something like dread in the pit of his stomach. He loves his son, he does, but sometimes he just _does_ things. Surely you can relate. He just doesn't think things through, that doesn't make him a bad person, he doesn't think. 

After all, he was a _good_ father. He was a good husband, too. The problem, he thinks, is that all these statements have 'was' as the verb. 

His favorite color was yellow. He was the one who took Kyoutani to his first volleyball game, even if Bre had been the one who convinced Kyoutani to play in the end. He was excellent at his job. He was patient and understanding. His wife was the love of his life. His wife _was._

Sometimes he would think of all these 'was' statements and catch himself wondering: when did his life stop existing in the present tense?

* * *

"Kentarou." Yoshirou said, voice eerily calm as he sat on Kyoutani's bed, flipping through papers. "What's all this?"

"Uh," Kyoutani scratched the back of his neck, honestly freaked the fuck out to get out of the shower and find his dad in his bedroom. "University stuff. You know, applications. Scholarship shit. The usual."

"Mmh," Yoshirou looked through all the papers and set two on the bed. The rest he kept in his hand and started walking out of Kyoutani's room. 

Confused and, quite frankly, _scared_ , Kyoutani followed after his father. He followed him all the way downstairs and into the kitchen, where his father stood over the trash bin. Yoshirou looked up and made eye contact with Kyoutani as he ripped the papers in half once, then again, and again until small shreds of paper fell into the bin. Kyoutani couldn't do anything but watch, throat constricting with the effort not to react somehow-whether he wanted to cry or scream, he wasn't sure. 

"Kentarou, do you know why those colleges were no good?" Yoshirou asked, crossing the room to stand in front of his son. Kyoutani knew better than to step away.

"No, sir." 

"Well, Ken," his father smiled sweetly, his tone condescending. "I'll tell you. Those colleges... they're all _so_ far away. From me, and home. Your mother and I raised you here, it would be a shame to let that be for nothing, wouldn't it?" Yoshirou reached forward and touched Kyoutani's face gently, fingers curling around his jaw. It was almost exactly the way Yahaba cradled his face, but this touch made Kyoutani want to vomit and scrub at his skin for hours. "I _need_ you here, Kentarou. It's hard enough being on my own when you're just at the fairy's house, I can't imagine always being alone in this big house. I already lost your sister to university, she never comes by to visit, now. Do you expect me to be okay with losing you too, Kentarou?"

Kyoutani shook his head slightly, much to Yoshirou's appreciation. 

"Good boy," Yoshirou patted Kyoutani's cheek, still not retracting his hand. His fingers curl behind Kyoutani's ear, thumb stroking his jawline. "I knew you wouldn't disappoint me, Ken. You're going to go to a nice college nearby, aren't you, Kentarou?" He forces Kyoutani to nod, chuckling quietly. "Good, good. Not the one the fairy ends up at, though. I don't like the way he looks at you, it's _dirty_. No man should be looking at you like that, you hear me?"

"I hear you." Kyoutani says weakly, recoiling in disgust when Yoshirou gets even closer and he absolutely _reeks_ of alcohol. 

"Very good, Kentarou. You see, you need me to point out the people you shouldn't spend time with. Who knows what could happen otherwise, you could get taken advantage of, you know." He pulls Kyoutani in for a hug, pressing the boy's face against his shoulder and holding him in place with a hand on his head. "It's safest to stay here, with me."

Kyoutani was absolutely trembling. Very few times did he genuinely fear his father, but times like this, when he was uncharacteristically calm and possessive, terrified him. He never knew what to expect.

"You're safe with me, nothing will happen to you on my watch." Yoshirou pressed his nose against Kyoutani's temple. "No one's going to take you away from me, you hear me, Bre?"

Kyoutani immediately writhes in an attempt to get out of his father's hold. It wasn't the first time his father had mistakenly called Kyoutani by his mother's name, but it was definitely the strangest and Kyoutani didn't know how to fix it. Yoshirou scowled and held onto Kyoutani tighter, fingers digging into his shoulder hard enough to bruise.

"You're not leaving again, Bre," he hissed, trying to yank Kyoutani back toward him. "You're not going with them, they're not gonna give you back, and you're _mine-_ "

Yoshirou tried to grab Kyoutani's face, and the boy panicked. He reared back and slapped his father, breathing heavily and staring with wide eyes as Yoshirou stumbled back, shocked. Enraged, Yoshirou surged forward and hit Kyoutani back, except he hit with a closed fist. Kyoutani hit the ground with the force of it, black dots blurring his vision as he vaguely notes something trickling down from his nose, presumably blood. 

"You shouldn't have hit me, Kentarou." Yoshirou said, pinching the bridge of his nose. He reached down to help his son up, but Kyoutani rolled away from him, pulling his knees up to his chest. This only served to further the man's anger, of course. "Fine, then. Deal with it on your own, brat." With a scowl, Yoshirou stepped over Kyoutani and went for the hallway. "I'm going to be in my office, don't bother me."

Kyoutani laid on his side, taking deep breaths as he tried to gain his bearings. Eventually, his phone buzzed in his pocket and he slowly pulled it out, squinting at the bright screen. 

**From: Captain (derogatory)**  
wanna go to the park?  
watari and the second years invited me

Despite everything, Kyoutani managed to smile at his phone. 

**To: Captain (derogatory)**  
depends  
are you gonna try and drop kick a first year again

**From: Captain (derogatory)**  
that was ONE time and he was ogling you ):  
and stealing my kyoutani time ):  
anyways !  
are you coming??

**To: Captain (derogatory)**  
yeah, whatever  
bring your first aid kit and don't freak out when you see me

**From: Captain (derogatory)**  
i can tell by your tone of voice that i'm going to freak out.

**To: Captain (derogatory)**  
?? i'm not speaking

**From: Captain (derogatory)**  
you're forgetting that i have dedicated a lot of time to being obsessed with you  
i can practically /hear/ your voice, ken  
see you when you get here!!

Kyoutani pockets his phone and pushes himself up off the ground, groaning quietly. He grabs his coat and slips on his shoes before leaving.

\----

When the house was empty, Yoshirou slowly walked upstairs and went into his bedroom. For the first time in a long time, he set the picture of his wife up from where it had been laying face down and lit her favorite candle. It wasn't the exact candle, of course, but he used to buy the same scented candle every time it burned down. It reminded him of her, she'd had a perfume that was similar. He sat in front of the picture and stared for what felt like hours before he buried his face in his hands. He whispered apologies, as though she could hear him, and told her that he would _never_ hurt their son on purpose. It crossed his mind once or twice that maybe he was convincing himself more than her, but that was ridiculous. 

He knew that he was a good person. 

But, once again, there arises the problem with the verb 'was'. How much longer would he live in the past tense?

\--------

When Kyoutani got to the park, Yahaba met him on the sidewalk. When he saw Kyoutani he grinned, then frowned once he took note of Kyoutani's busted lip and the dried blood on his top lip. 

"C'mon, Ken, I'll clean you up. Let's go to the bathroom." Yahaba reached for Kyoutani's hand, tugging him along. 

Kyoutani grunted in response, staring straight ahead until they were in the bathroom, where Yahaba instructed him to sit on the counter. "You don't really like, have to, you know. I'm good like this."

Yahaba quirks up an eyebrow, glancing up at Kyoutani as he pulls the first aid kit out of his string backpack. "The hell you are, I'm not gonna let you walk around like that. Your lip will start hurting."

"You wanna kiss it better?" Kyoutani asks, smirking. 

Yahaba snorts and reaches around Kyoutani for paper towels, waiting for the water to heat up. "Sure, as soon as we've got that blood cleaned up."

Once the water is warm, Yahaba dampens the paper towel and starts dabbing at the dried blood on Kyoutani's face, holding his ace's head still with gentle fingers curled around his jaw-the same way Yoshirou had held his face, even on the same side. The sensation from Yahaba's touch is so different, so much more comforting, it's overwhelming, really. Kyoutani blinks quickly because _fuck_ if he was about to cry over something so stupid, he wasn't a baby. 

Yahaba notices, though, because of fucking course he would notice, he never misses anything. "What's wrong? Did that hurt?" He starts to pull his hand away, but Kyoutani shoots his hand up to grab Yahaba's wrist, holding his hand in place. 

"It's nothing, keep going shitface."

"It's obviously _something_." Yahaba scoffs, rolling his eyes. "What's going on with you?"

"You're not gonna leave it alone, are you?" When Yahaba shakes his head, Kyoutani sighs and relents. "Fine. Whatever, just... keep working while I talk, and keep-keep your hand there, on my face. Anyways, uh. It's stupid, it's just that my dad touched my face right there. And his fingers curled around my jaw the same way yours do, and when you do it, it's _nice_ and _gentle_ and it makes me feel good but when he did it-" he scowls, nose scrunched in distaste. "It made me feel sick to my stomach, I don't know. I told you it was fucking stupid."

Yahaba stared at Kyoutani, and to his credit he didn't look pitying. He just looked fucking pissed. "I swear to god, your dad is lucky I respect you enough not to go behind your back and beat the shit out of him." Despite how he was obviously seething, Yahaba's touch stayed gentle as he dabbed at Kyoutani's face with the paper towel. His thumb stroked along Kyoutani's jawline gently, and he smiled lightly when Kyoutani sighed and leaned into the touch. "You're so touch-starved, Kyou."

"Fuck you," Kyoutani mumbled, not bothering to open his eyes. 

"Not till you take me to dinner." Yahaba quips back easily as he moves on to cleaning Kyoutani's busted lip. 

"You're an absolute menace, Yahaba Shigeru." Kyoutani said as he finally opened his eyes, the corner of his mouth twitching up in amusement. 

Setting the paper towel to the side, Yahaba cups Kyoutani's face in both hands and squishes his cheeks, snickering. "A ray of sunshine as always, Kyoutani Kentarou."

The brunet presses his lips against Kyoutani's, then. Gently, so that the cut doesn't start bleeding again. Once they pull apart, Yahaba bumps his nose against Kyoutani's sweetly and whispers: "Race you to the big slide, loser buys dinner."

Then, because he's an absolute dick, Yahaba grabs his bag and first aid kit and fucking _bolts_. And after that, because he's a stupid teenager and really can't be bothered to worry over things much bigger than races to Big Slides, Kyoutani shouts out a string of curse words and chases after his boyfriend. 

In the end, neither made it to the big slide first. This is because just before Yahaba reached it, Kyoutani tackled him. True to their nature, the two ended up rolling around on the ground, wrestling. They only stopped when three shadows were cast over them. 

The two looked up to find Watari staring down at them in resigned acceptance, Kunimi looking somewhat amused, and Kindaichi just looking _concerned_. "You two havin' fun down there?" Kunimi asks.

"Uh-" Kyoutani and Yahaba both try to get up at the same time, only succeeding in bumping their heads together hard enough to send them both back to the ground. Bickering ensues. Finally, Kyoutani shoves Yahaba's face away long enough to stand, soon followed by the other boy. 

After much more bickering and expert goading from Kunimi, the five finally make it to the top of the big slide. They all sit together, Kunimi already shifting to lay his head in Kindaichi's lap. He doesn't try to sleep, though, just watches the clouds and listens to his friends with a small smile as Kindaichi plays with his hair absentmindedly. Watari had brought drinks, but Kunimi wasn't thirsty. He gives his pop to Kindaichi, because that bright little smile he gave was one of Kunimi's favorite sights. Kunimi's train of thought is derailed by Yahaba's indignant shrieks.

"Spit it out! Oh my god!" Yahaba yells, eyes wide as he watches Kyoutani. "Why would you do that-" he reaches forward to try and force Kyoutani's mouth open, but the blond just tightens his jaw and yanks his head back with a snarl. "Kyoutani you fucking idiot, spit it out! Drop it! Get it out of your mouth what the _fuck_?!"

Reluctantly, Kyoutani spits out the marble. 

"You're so fucking stupid, why would you-there's a reason the bottle isn't easily opened, Kyoutani how did you even manage-"

"Teeth." Kyoutani said simply, chomping on nothing to add emphasis. 

"You're so weird." Yahaba shakes his head, sighing in disappointment. "I can't believe I'm going to make out with you later."

"I mean, you don't have to-"

"No I'm gonna." Yahaba leans against Kyoutani, threading their fingers together. "I just don't _understand_."

"Look," Kyoutani huffs, "If they didn't want you putting the marble in your mouth they shouldn't put it in there in the first place."

"That's not true! Not even a little bit!" 

"I'm a simple man, Yahaba, I see something small and glassy, I put it in my mouth." 

Yahaba stares at Kyoutani with exasperated fondness. "I am so attracted to you." 

"If you two are done with... that..." Kunimi says, breaking the tension that had begun to build between the two. "First year, two o'clock." When Yahaba's eyes narrow, Kunimi smirks and adds: "Not _that_ first year, chill. Anyways, he just had what looked to be an intense conversation with an old woman, who is now walking toward the hag bench." Everyone immediately looks to the same bench, the one where old ladies sit to feed the birds, and occasionally smoke weed. "You know the drill, entertain me."

"I bet she's his step mom, sugar momma for his dad."

"Ew, gross," Kyoutani scrunched up his nose in distaste. "She's obviously a teacher, or somethin'. I don't know."

"Dealer." Watari says decidedly after a moment. "Watch."

Everyone turns to watch the old woman, everyone except for Kunimi and Watari groaning when the kid walks past her again and she slips something in his pocket. Kindaichi, Kyoutani, and Yahaba all dutifully hand over five-hundred yen, as per the rules of their little game. 

* * *

It was an important game. Not in the long run, perhaps, it had no influence on their placing in inter-highs or qualifiers, but it was important on a deeper level. The reason being that they were playing Shiratorizawa, and the third years from the year before were all in attendance. In fact, at certain moments the team could hear Hanamaki and Oikawa out of everyone in the crowd.

They won the first set, lost the second, and were now tied at 24. They were all thoroughly exhausted, sweat dripping down their face as they rehydrated during a timeout. After a nod from their coach and a reassuring shoulder bump from Kyoutani, Yahaba cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. 

"We might lose." Shittiest start to a pep talk ever. "But that's okay, because you know what? We're Aoba fucking Johsai." The coach conveniently pretended not to hear the choice language. Yahaba grinned, eyes gleaming. "That being said, I don't know about you guys, but I'm really in the mood to make those guys eat shit." Barely resigned jeers of approval erupted around him and Yahaba's crooked grin widened. "You know what we're gonna do? We're gonna go out there and kick ass!" 

"And if we lose, Yahaba's going to buy us dinner." Kyoutani adds, shooting Yahaba a smirk when he notes the captain's look of absolute betrayal. "No need to worry, captain," Kyoutani said, reaching up to hold the back of Yahaba's head as they walk back onto the court together. "We're gonna win, after all." 

Yahaba looked at Kyoutani with a nervous grin, then leaned in and said just loud enough for him to hear: "Let's do our quick."

Kyoutani's smile in response to that was close to being _predatory_. Yahaba absolutely loved it. 

The time seemed to tick by achingly slow, Kyoutani looked around the court and made eye contact with Kindaichi, then Yahaba. His breathing was ragged and he could barely hear the cheers of the crowd or the ref's whistle through the blood that rushed through his ears. It was invigorating, honestly. There was absolutely nothing in the world like this feeling, Kyoutani couldn't believe he'd ever tried to give it up.

It was time to put their new quick into practical use for the first time since they'd started working on it. They'd done it plenty of times in individual practice and practice matches, but this was the real deal. Kyoutani and Kindaichi both got ready, eyes darting back and forth between Yahaba and the other side of the net. When the ball was on their side again, Yahaba jumped up, ready to set. He poised himself exactly as he would tossing forward, then hit the ball behind him at the last second. The other team's middle blockers, who had originally been guarding Kyoutani and Kindaichi, took just a second too long to register that Kyoutani was darting across the court. They fought to catch up, but were too late. Kyoutani managed a near _perfect_ vertical jump and slammed his palm against the ball, falling on his ass as quickly as he'd jumped up. The ball barely missed the middle blockers' fingers as it hurtled toward the center of the court. Players dove to receive it, but were too late. It slammed into the ground, putting Seijoh with a score of 25, winning them the set and, consequentially, the full match.

Kyoutani and Yahaba turned toward each other, Yahaba with a blinding smile and Kyoutani with a wide, toothy grin. Yahaba flung his arms around Kyoutani's neck, laughing loudly as Kyoutani picked him up by the waist. "You did it! You did it, Ken!" He shrieked, cradling the blond's face in gentle hands and curling his fingers around Kyoutani's jaw. 

"No, Yahaba," Kyoutani shook his head slightly, "We did it. All of us."

Then Yahaba's lips were on his and _honestly,_ was there a better way to end a game? Arms so sore he could barely feel them as they held up his boyfriend, mind already fried and going even fuzzier with the usual static that came with kissing Yahaba Shigeru. 

"My sweet honeybee," Yahaba mumbled against Kyoutani's lips, and really the other boy had half a mind to drop him right there.

When they pulled apart, just barely enough to look into each other's eyes, Kyoutani grinned and proudly said: "You are an absolute _menace_ , Yahaba Shigeru." 

"A ray of sunshine as always, Kyoutani Kentarou." Yahaba replied, smiling fondly until the two were very rudely reminded that they were not, in fact, the only two people in the whole universe. 

"My god," Hanamaki said from behind them. "These bitches gay." 

"Good for them, _good_ _for them_." Matsukawa nods solemnly, as if he wasn't currently holding Hanamaki's hand. 

"Iwaizumi Hajime you are a goddamn _coward_ and a _fool-_ " A familiar whining lilt came, then, and Yahaba reluctantly accepted that the moment was over and let Kyoutani put him down just as Oikawa and Iwaizumi came into view. "You never picked me up like that after a game!"

"Fuck off, you're heavy." Iwaizumi groaned, though he still wrapped an arm around Oikawa's shoulders. 

"Mean, Iwa-chan, I'll tell your mother. Iwaizumi-san _loves me-_ "

"Hey, guys." Iwaizumi cuts Oikawa off, turning to Yahaba and Kyoutani. "That was some quick." 

"Yeah, well," Yahaba grins and bumps his shoulder against Kyoutani's. "I have _some_ ace." 

* * *

That year, after graduation, Kyoutani was cleaning out his locker. Inside he found a small package. He grabbed it with a frown, glancing around him before he opened it. Inside, there were two things. One was a necklace, the cord black and low-key, but there was a charm on it. Upon closer inspection, it was an exact replica of the enamel bee that had been on the bookmark Yahaba gave to him at the beginning of the year. He grins and looks at the other thing, a card. 

_Sunshine,_

_I told you, you're wrong. The book has everything to do with bees._

Beneath that, a quote from The Secret Life of Bees was written in Yahaba's handwriting. 

_She reminded me that the world was really one bee yard, and the same rules work fine in both places. Don't be afraid, as no life-loving bee wants to sting you. Still, don't be an idiot; wear long sleeves and pants. Don't swat. Don't even think about swatting. If you feel angry, whistle. Anger agitates while whistling melts a bee's temper. Act like you know what you're doing, even if you don't. Above all, send the bees love._

The final part of the quote was underlined and circled. 

_**Every little thing wants to be loved.** _

_Signed,_

_An absolute menace._

Kyoutani stared down at the card, eyes wide and face flushed as he reads it and rereads it. Not too long after he's read it for the fifth time, soft whistling comes from behind him. He turned around and, as expected, finds Yahaba staring at him with a smug grin as he leans against the doorframe. 

"Don't just stand there, fuckface," Kyoutani huffs. "Get your ass over here and kiss me."

"Mm, that I can do." Yahaba pushes off the doorframe and walks over to Kyoutani, cupping his face with those same gentle hands, that same loving touch as his fingers curl around Kyoutani's jaw. The kiss is short and sweet, ending with the two rubbing their noses together in a bunny kiss. 

"Pretty great to be alone in this room and it _not_ be because you have to clean up some cut, huh?" Kyoutani teases. 

"Mhm, I was just thinking the same thing." They stand in silence for a few minutes before Yahaba pulls away, reaching for the necklace. "Here, let me put it on you."

Kyoutani obediently hands over the necklace, watching intently as Yahaba's tongue pokes out in concentration. "I'm sorry, by the way. That you were always the one who patched me up, I... I know it must've been... not the easiest. And I know you probably don't get why I didn't just make it stop, but-"

"No, I get it," Yahaba mumbles, cursing under his breath when he misses the chain again. 

"You do?"

"Yeah, I do. I probably wouldn't have, if I hadn't read the book. But I get it. He's your dad, you love him. You want to stay with him, give him the benefit of the doubt. Even if he's shitty most of the time, that's just how you are. Kind, unexpectedly forgiving, understanding to a fault." He let's the charm fall against Kyoutani's neck, smiling fondly.

"Besides," Yahaba starts, sliding his hands up to cradle Kyoutani's face once again. His fingers curl around Kyoutani's jaw as he looks him in the eye and says, plain and simple: 

"Every little thing wants to be loved."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's all folks!  
> Thank you so much for taking the time to read! Kudos and comments are always appreciated!!
> 
> y'all i wept while writing this i'm e m o t i o n a l  
> like that ending,, pulled that out of my ass. originally had something else planned but i definitely like this better. i'm sobbing y'all i hurt my own heart with this one, gonna have to pour out a choccy milk
> 
> come scream with/at me on tumblr dot com!! url is: polaroidsandpeachtea


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